it would appear that high-ups in Turkey are using the knowledge of Al CIA duh
to gain favour for their proposed entry to the EU
[also of usable interest is the drug routes utilised by MI6/CIA through Turkey]
Both The French & the Germans are seemingly against Turkish EU integration
The Turks could well be using this AL-CIA-DUH info as a buffer against the German elections
which look like they may well be going to Angela Merkell
who is being touted by many as Germanys version of Thatcher...
[although her right wing speeches haven't helped the middle ground by getting zenophobic]
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She received the most applause for what she had to say about Turkey's desire to join the EU and immigration. Every child in Germany, she said, should be able to speak German before it started school. There was no place in Germany for those who preached hatred, and one could not expect the European Union to accept Turkey as a full member. - dw-world.de
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This shift to the right for German politics will be bad for Turkeys aspirations and we might also see a less caustic German response to the US neocon policy
Schroeder earlier this week tried to batter Bushes Iran posturing...surely a weak attempt to gain votes
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German chancellor launches election campaign with swipe at Bush, attack on conservatives
BERLIN – Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder opened his campaign Saturday for next month's national election seeking to rejuvenate his beleaguered center-left party by taking a swipe at U.S. military aggressiveness and the verbal gaffes of a conservative opposition leader.
The ruling Social Democrats are behind in opinion polls going into the Sept. 18 vote due to widespread unhappiness over tightening of the social welfare system, but Schroeder hopes to turn the party's fortunes around as he did in winning a comeback victory in the 2002 election.
With his party trailing in the months before that election, Schroeder won new support by ratcheting up his criticisms of the looming U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and donning high galoshes to visit flooded cities in the depressed east.
He revisited the first theme Saturday, saying Germany's "friends" in Europe and the United States must maintain a strong position while negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program.
"But take the military options off of the table; we have seen that they're not suitable," Schroeder said, apparently alluding to President Bush's statement on Israeli TV on Friday that "all options are on the table" in the confrontation with Iran.
The chancellor also turned his attention to turmoil within the opposition, attacking Christian Democrat leader Angela Merkel, who hopes to replace him, and her ally Edmund Stoiber, head of a Bavarian sister party who questioned the intelligence of voters in eastern Germany.
"The strong-arm tactics and tastelessness of Mr. Stoiber and the leadership shortcomings of Ms. Merkel are not tailored to bringing this country together," Schroeder said at an outdoor rally in his hometown of Hanover.
In starting her campaign Wednesday, Merkel found herself immediately on the defensive seeking to control the damage caused by Stoiber's remarks the same day.
Stoiber, the governor of Bavaria, said at a rally that he didn't want the former communist east to swing the Sept. 18 election – a reference to the voters in six eastern states who helped return Schroeder to office in 2002 when Stoiber was the conservatives' candidate for chancellor.
"Unfortunately, we don't have such intelligent citizens everywhere as we do in Bavaria," said Stoiber, whose prosperous state is home to many people unhappy over the time and money spent on the east since reunification. - signonsandiego.com
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we might even see yet another G8 staged Bombing to send a message to
the Turkish renegade intell
as in Egypt, failure to play ball in the 'terror index' .. IE their failure to name a London Bombing 'Mastermind'
is punished by bombs which effect the tourist money supply...
bearing in mind that Britain are Holding the EU presidency: as of 2005:
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The FBIs Office of International Operations, in conjunction with the CIA and the US State Department counter-narcotics section, the United Kingdoms MI6, Israels Mossad, Pakistans ISI, the US DEA, Turkeys MIT, and the governments and intelligence agencies of dozens of nations, were in one way or another involved in the illicit drug trade either trying to stop it or benefit from it. What can be surmised from the public record is that from 1998 to September 10, 2001, the War on Drugs kept bumping into the nascent War on Terror and new directions in US foreign policy.-
It's easy to imagine the thousands of drug couriers, middlemen, financiers and lab technicians moving back and forth between Pakistan and Turkey, and over to Western Europe and the United States, and the tidbits of information they gleaned from their sponsors as they traveled. As information gathering assets for the intelligence agencies of the world, they must have been invaluable. And given the dozens of foreign intelligence services working the in the counter-narcotics/terrorism fields, the "chatter" that just dozens of well-placed operatives may have overheard about attacks against Western targets must have found its way into the US intelligence apparatus. But, again, who could believe the audacity of non-state actors organizing a domestic attack against the supreme power of the day, the USA? Implementing a new strategic direction and business deals may have overcome the wacky warnings from the counter-narcotics folks.
Back in the late 1990's and early 2000, who would have believed the rants of a drug courier from Afghanistan saying that some guy named Bin Laden was going to attack America, particularly if it involved America's newest friend, Turkey? Or that a grand design to reshape Central Asia and the Middle East with Turkey and Israel as pivot points was being pushed by the Clinton Administration as a matter of national policy.
http://cryptome.org/turkey-tale.htm
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MI5 is linked to death of drugs baron 'Popeye'
Customs demand answers over smuggler whose exploits cost life of heroic agent
WHEN the millionaire drugs baron known as "Popeye" absconded from prison, the criminal underworld was sure that his friends in the British security services had helped Roddy McLean to escape.
[snip]
agents are also angry at the apparent reluctance of their own officers to demand a full, public investigation. The Prison Service has yet to fully explain why McLean, a category-A convict, was moved so quickly to Leyhill open prison in south Gloucestershire, which has the worst record in Britain for absconders. He lied to the authorities about wanting a transfer to be closer to his wife, who had just bought a home in Edinburgh. On a Saturday in November 2003 McLean was allowed out of prison for a day release. A van-load of MI5 agents are alleged to have been waiting for him. They are said to have given him a fresh set of clothes. a new identity and fake documents and slipped him on to a ferry to Ireland. McLean travelled on to Wexford on the southeast coast to make contact with fellow smugglers, who would help him to get in touch with a notorious London-based crime family. The authorities were desperate to discover the heroin- smuggling routes that the Turkish-Cypriot crime clan were using. Within 24 hours of his escape, McLean, who gained the nickname "Popeye" because of his love of the sea, was sailing for a rendezvous with a Spanish fishing boat to pick up a consignment of cannabis
Times Online
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State terror in Turkey
On November 3, 1996 a car accident revealed the intimate
connections among fascist organizations such as the Turkish
Action Party (MHP), their terrorist arm, the Grey Wolves,
"mainstream" bourgeois" parties, state security agencies,
military intelligence and drug-trafficking mafiosi.
In light of recent revelations regarding the use of drug
traffickers and fascist operatives by the CIA as the agency waged
clandestine war against the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua,
the scandal rocking the Turkish state over similar revelations
should not be viewed as an isolated phenomenon. Indeed, such
patterns of complicity among state security agencies, fascist
thugs and drug gangs is the _norm_ not the exception.
Similar to earlier models (Argentina, Chile, Greece, El
Salvador) the employment of strategic and tactical terror against
dissidents, "false flag" bombings and murders to discredit the
left, torture, "disappearances," Turkey's scorched earth campaign
in South Kurdistan, conform to standard doctrine taught by
imperialism at institutions such as the U.S. Army's School of the
Americas. -
TURKEY'S "COINTELPRO" SCANDAL: THE "CONTRA-GUERRILLA"
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The contra-guerrilla in Turkey, strengthened in the `80s and actually
forming the government, waging an intensified war against the people
since the `90s, profited from the experiences the CIA had made in
previous years in these countries.
THE FIRST CONTRA-GUERRILLA CENTRE: THE "MOBILISATION WORKGROUP".
In 1947, the government of the CHP (Cumhurriyet Halk Partisi -
Republican People's Party) changed the system from a one-party system
into a multi-party system because of the relations with the
imperialist countries, especially the USA. This phase has been very
important for Turkey. The relations with the USA rapidly developed
under the government of the DP (Democratic Party), led by
prime-minister Adnan Mendere. In the general treaty with the USA and
the European countries, Turkey especially asked for economic aid.
Under the Marshall Plan, influenced by the Truman Doctrine, this aid
was generously granted to bring the USA closer to its aim of world
domination. Although there was no written request by the USA or a
corresponding treaty, Turkey - on its own initiative - sent soldiers
to Korea for the benefit of the imperialists to show itself a reliable
friend for the USA. On April 4, 1952, Turkey became a member of
NATO. Under the "Treaty for Mutual Defence" Turkey signed many
treaties which made it dependent of the imperialists. Like in all
other NATO countries, a contra-guerrilla organisation was set up in
Turkey in 1952 against the "threat of a communist occupation", called
"Mobilisation Workgroup". And like in all founding member countries,
the public and parliament were not informed about the existence of the
contra-guerrilla. Only the few who took part in setting it up, knew
about it.
The contra-guerrilla, under the command of the 2. chairman of the
general staff, was housed in the same building as the US
aid-organisation JUSMAAT in Ankara/Bahcelievler. In 1965, the name was
changed into "Special Warfare Department", and in 1990 it was renamed
"Special Forces Command". Until 1974, the CIA took care of all the
costs and the training of the contra-guerrilla's.
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Leftist Militant groups are now 'terrorists'
Car bomb in southeast Turkey injures 23
Wed Nov 2, 2005 DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Kurdish rebels detonated a car bomb in front of security headquarters in a town in southeast Turkey, injuring 23 people and damaging dozens of buildings, officials and media reports said on Wednesday.
The blast ripped through Semdinli on the border of Iraq and Iran at 11.30 pm (2130 GMT) on Tuesday, leaving four soldiers, three police officers and 16 civilians hurt, the provincial governor's office said in a statement.
CNN Turk said on its Web site that the explosion occurred outside the local paramilitary police headquarters.
"We ask our people and the authorities to be vigilant on the subject of terror activities," the Hakkari governor's office said.
It said separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels had planted the explosives in the vehicle and operations have been launched to capture those responsible. It said 67 houses and workplaces were damaged in the blast.
The PKK launched its violent campaign for self rule in the southeast of the country in 1984 and more than 30,000 people have died in the conflict.
- reuters
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Turkey: Bomb Triggers Unrest In Town
November 09, 2005 - A bomb exploded in a bookstore in the southeastern Turkish city of Semdinli on Nov. 9, killing one person and injuring several others, the state-run Anatolian news agency reported.
After the explosion, a group of residents tried to lynch an individual suspected of planting the bomb; the unrest spread when residents later pelted the police with stones. The incidents follow a car bombing of the security headquarters in Semdinli by Kurdish rebels the week of Oct. 30.
- stratfor.com
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Kurdish Demonstrators shout slogans as they carry the coffins of the two people who died in this week's bomb attack on a bookstore in Semdinli, a town near the Iraqi border of Turkey, November 11, 2005. Turkish media said on Friday members of Turkey's security forces may have been behind the bomb attack, triggering a third day of clashes between police and Kurdish rebel protesters.
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Turk media says security forces maybe behind bomb
ANKARA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Turkish media said on Friday members of Turkey's security forces may have been involved in the bombing of a bookstore in the country's troubled southeast which almost led to their lynching by an angry crowd. Wednesday's bomb blast in the town of Semdinli near the Iraqi border on Wednesday killed one person and a second was shot dead amid two days of violent protests by local people triggered by the explosion.
"A dark incident," said the top-selling Hurriyet daily in a banner headline, saying suspicions that the security forces were acting outside the law had rattled the Turkish state.
Justice Minister Cemil Cicek vowed to uncover what exactly had happened but urged Turks to await the results of an official investigation. "We have the political determination to deal with this issue," Cicek said in televised remarks.
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Newspapers said three suspects detained by police after their near-lynching had turned out to be intelligence agents of the gendarmerie, a paramilitary body under civilian supervision which is charged with looking after security in rural areas. The men were quoted as saying they had been passing through the town by chance when the explosion had occurred and the crowd turned on them.
But the newspapers said police had found in the men's car three Kalashnikov assault rifles, two grenades, a detailed map of the province and a map pinpointing the bombed bookstore. A national police spokesman in the capital Ankara said on Friday police were still holding one suspect over the incident and were examining weapons found at the scene.
Spokesman Ismail Caliskan gave no further details but he urged local citizens not to take the law into their own hands. "We do not want our public to be provoked. We want them to show commonsense and await the results of the probe," he said.
On Thursday, demonstrators set fire to a police checkpoint, erected barricades and pulled down powerlines in Semdinli in protest against the bombing. Tensions have been rising steadily in Turkey's impoverished southeast since the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) called off a six-year unilateral ceasefire last year and resumed its attacks on security and civilian targets. Last week, a PKK member was killed when a mine he was planting exploded in the eastern province of Tunceli.
On Friday, a bomb exploded under the parked car of a local prosecutor in the town of Silopi near the Iraqi border. The blast caused a lot of damage but nobody was hurt, security officials said.
Turkey blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group began its armed struggle for an independent Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984. The European Union, which Turkey aspires to join, has urged Ankara to do more to develop the economy of the southeast but it has also put the PKK on its terrorism blacklist.
alertnet.org
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Bombing throws spotlight on Turkey's "deep state"
By Gareth Jones Nov 18, 2005 ANKARA (Reuters) - A bombing allegedly carried out by members of the security services has shone a spotlight on Turkey's shadowy "deep state" and raised questions about whether the country's EU-inspired liberal reforms have really tamed it.
The "deep state" is made up of elements in the military, security and judicial establishment wedded to a fiercely nationalist, statist ideology who if need be are ready to block or even oust a government which does not share their vision.
"They believe they act on behalf of the nation and the state and so may sometimes be willing to ignore the law," Semih Idiz, a commentator for CNN Turk private television, told Reuters.
Ankara began its European Union entry talks last month after a flurry of reforms that included greater civilian control of the armed forces after four military coups in 40 years. In their last intervention in 1997, the generals ousted an Islamist government deemed a threat to Turkey's state secularism.
The detention of three members of the security services after the November 9 bombing of a bookshop in the town of Semdinli in Turkey's troubled, mainly Kurdish southeast, reawakened suspicions that the "deep state" is still alive and well. When prosecutors then freed two of the men, and Yasar Buyukanit, head of Turkey's land forces, described one of them as "a good soldier", the suspicions deepened.
"There are two states (in Turkey)," former President Suleyman Demirel told NTV television, commenting on the bombing and making clear he believed Turkey had not changed very much. "There is the state and there is the deep state ... When a small difficulty occurs, the civilian state steps back and the deep state becomes the generator (of decisions)."
Though there is no evidence suggesting the involvement of senior military personnel in the Semdinli bombing, diplomats and analysts say the government's ability to bring the bombers to justice will demonstrate just how much Turkey has broken free of the "deep state" and become a more open, transparent society.
LITMUS TEST
"This is a litmus test for Turkey ... because of our European Union candidacy," said Idiz.
The European Commission said in its latest progress report published last week that Turkey had to do more to rein in the military, eliminate torture and boost Kurdish cultural rights. The government, clearly rattled by allegations that members of the security forces may have taken the law into their own hands, has ordered a full parliamentary inquiry into the Semdinli incident and has urged the public to remain calm.
But angry locals fearing a coverup have clashed daily with police in Semdinli and other towns in the impoverished southeast, chanting pro-Kurdish rebel slogans. Several people have been killed and many more injured in the protests.
"Semdinli is of course in the southeast, near Iraq, so you have the Kurdish issue too to contend with. The "deep state" has always been most visible in that region because it is more lawless and harder for Ankara to monitor," said one diplomat.
Turkish security forces have been battling an armed campaign by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the southeast since 1984. Violence, strongest in the 1980s and 1990s, has recently increased after the PKK ended a 6-year unilateral ceasefire.
Senior army commanders have complained that the government, in its efforts to bring Turkey into line with EU practices, has prevented them cracking down more effectively on the PKK.
Some Turkish media have speculated that elements in the "deep state" are trying to provoke instability in order to win a freer hand in the southeast. Others see only the hand of the PKK in the Semdinli and the many other bombings in the region. Adding to the complexity of the situation, the military establishment deeply distrusts Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AK Party because of their roots in political Islam.
William Hale, a veteran specialist in Turkish affairs at London's School of Oriental and African Studies, said the Semdinli affair recalled a 1996 scandal which erupted after a car carrying a top policeman, a wanted mobster and a parliamentarian crashed in western Turkey. The crash pointed to shady links between politicians, police, the military and criminal gangs, but the investigation petered out due, he said, to a lack of political will.
"The difference is that then we had a government only half in control (due to the "deep state"). Now, the government has no excuses. The AKP is a party of outsiders, anti-deep state, even anti-state in some respects," he told Reuters, in an allusion to the government's Islamist leanings.
"Erdogan needs to show the EU that things have changed."
reuters.co.uk
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Several injured in Istanbul blast
18/11/2005 -
A bomb placed in a rubbish bin exploded near a fairground in Istanbul today, injuring five people, police said.
The bomb was placed outside the Tatilya fairground, in Beylikduzu, a suburb on the European side of the city, a police official said. An investigation was under way, but police suspect that autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels, who have carried out similar attacks in the city, may be behind the bombing, he said. Militant leftist and Islamic groups are also active in the city.
- IOL
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| 'Interest Circles Bothered by the Peace in the Region'
By Yahya Oylek, Fettah Erdurur - Published: Sunday, November 20, 2005
The notables of the region spend great efforts to end the tension that broke out after the bombing of a bookstore at the Semdinli district of the Southeastern Turkish city of Hakkari. Former Van Mayor Sehabettin Ozaslaner from the Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) thinks circles who want to obstruct the European Union (EU) process exploit the emotions of the people. Relating the tension hurts the Kurdish people the most, Ozaslaner notes that circles who feed on blood and tears are still on the stage.
Indicating Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Diyarbakir statement disturbed some circles, Ozaslaner said: “Some circles within the state and some groups within the Kurds were disturbed by the statement. The calm and the peace of the last few years in the region bothered these circles. The Semdinli affair is an opportunity to disclose these circles who feed on chaos and turmoil.” Characterizing the Semdinli affair as more forbidding than the Susurluk affair, Ozaslaner said: “I do not say these incidents are perpetrated by the state but, there are dark forces in the state and there are similar groups infiltrated among the Kurds. The people of the region should not attribute the culpability to the state, they should be sensitive and not taken over by provocations.”
Ozaslaner drew attention to the timing of the bombings which came after promises of democratic advancements and warned against the coup barkers. Ozaslaner acclaimed Prime Minister Erdogan's message of determination for the solution of the affair, but also said he found it odd no minister was sent to the region in the first few days following the bombing. Ozaslaner noted that stately visits to the region, even if late, would abate the tension.
Ozaslaner is of the opinion that the motive behind the events at Hakkari and Yuksova, after the one at Semdinli, is to impair Prime Minister Erdogan's hand. He thinks these circles should not be afforded the opportunity to realize their objectives and calls the people of the region to magnanimously continue to follow good sense.
The tension in the Semdinli town of Hakkari has been soaring since the beginning of November. The residents of the city experienced another bomb attack on November 9 after the explosion on November 1, in which 23 people were injured and many buildings were damaged. A hand grenade was thrown to a bookstore. The people nearby caught a Gendarme member, who was trying to escape with a car, and tried to lynch him. The car with machine guns and other equipment was damaged by the people. The event was announced by the newspapers as a scandal. Statements by politicians and the government led people to believe illegal groups within the state would be revealed; however, the course of the events changed in the following days. Protesting demonstrations were organized with PKK's provocations, three people died during the demonstrations and this increased the tension even more.
Susurluk is the name of a town at northwestern Turkey. In 1996, the town had been the stage of a deadly car accident that disclosed uncanny relations as one of the vehicles involved in the accident turned out to be transporting a parliamentary deputy, a senior police officer, a famous right wing gang leader and a former beauty queen. - zaman.com
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| Turkish PM faces protests in tense southeast
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan made a surprise visit to Turkey's troubled southeast on Monday, facing local anger at alleged security force links to a bombing which has fuelled violent protests.
Separatist conflict has surged in the mainly Kurdish region this year and the latest clashes have raised pressure on the government to resolve a festering problem being watched closely by the European Union after Turkey began entry talks last month.
The unrest was triggered by a Nov. 9 bombing blamed by many on security force members in the town of Semdinli, close to the mountainous borders with Iraq and Iran.
Three gendarmes, or regional policemen, were detained in connection with the blast in a book shop in which one man died. Six people have been killed in protests following the bombing, the latest on Sunday night in clashes between police and protesters in the southern city of Mersin.
Erdogan, who has called for a parliamentary inquiry into the bookstore bombing, flew into the region overnight with the interior and justice ministers for an unscheduled visit amid tight security.
"While the legal process is continuing we will monitor it and do whatever is necessary on the administrative front," Erdogan told a crowd of hundreds gathered in a Semdinli street, in an address appealing for national unity.
"Whatever ethnic, religious or regional group we are part of we must live together hand-in-hand and shoulder-to-shoulder," he said, flanked by heavily armed special forces members.
CHOCOLATE AND MONEY
One group protested as Erdogan left the site of the bookshop bombing. "Who will provide security if the state's man kills?" said one of several placards taken away by security guards who handed out chocolate and five lira ($3) notes to children.
Erdogan later addressed a crowd of thousands in the nearby town Yuksekova as residents chanted for the local governor's resignation.
The European Union, which Ankara aspires to join, has urged Turkey to do more to develop the economy of the southeast but has also put the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) on its terrorism blacklist.
The European Commission has raised concerns over the treatment of the large Kurdish minority. Kurds face discrimination in many fields, especially the use of their language and culture, the Commission said in a report this month.
There has been a rising tide of violence in the southeast since the PKK called off a six-year unilateral ceasefire last year and resumed its attacks on security and civilian targets.
Turkey blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since it launched its armed struggle for an ethnic homeland in the region in 1984 - alertnet
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Turkish Parliament to Investigate Possible State Ties to Bomb Attack
Wednesday, November 23, 2005 ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey's parliament voted Wednesday to investigate whether security forces were behind a grenade attack in the largely Kurdish southeast, a bombing that sparked days of rioting and allegations that the state was carrying out summary executions.
The vote to set up the 12-member commission was overwhelming, and conducted by a show of hands.
"I think it would be beneficial if parliament investigates this incident so that no question mark is left on the issue," Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu said just before the vote at a special session of parliament called to discuss the Nov. 9 bombing. Both the ruling Justice and Development Party and the opposition support an investigation.
"Our citizens should maintain their calm and trust us," Aksu said. "Everything is being done to shed light on the incident in every aspect."
The commission is expected to travel to the area of the attack to interview witnesses, and can call on the courts to prosecute suspects. It lacks the power, however, to force people to testify.
The military is deeply revered in Turkey, and investigating possible links between security forces and extra-judicial killings could be explosive.
"Are we going to become a state ruled by laws, are we going to break some taboos, or are we going to remain the same? The public wants to know the answer," said Esat Canan, an opposition member of parliament from Hakkari, where the attack took place. "This is Turkey's last chance toward becoming a state governed by the rule of law," he said.
In the attack, a hand grenade was hurled at a bookstore in the overwhelmingly Kurdish town of Semdinli, killing one person. The store was owned by Seferi Yilmaz, a former guerrilla with the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, who was convicted and served 14 years in prison for participating in the group's first armed attack in August 1984. Yilmaz and bystanders chased the suspected bomber, a PKK informant, to a car outside and captured the suspect and two paramilitary police standing next to the car. In the car, which allegedly was owned by the paramilitary police, there were reportedly hand grenades similar to the one used in the attack.
Canan, who witnessed the opening of the trunk of the car, said that inside there were also guns, plans showing Yilmaz's shop and a list indicating which Kurdish clans were pro-state and which were not. The possibility that the military was behind the attack has raised fears that security forces may have been trying to carry out summary executions, which were common in the early 1990s in the fight against Kurdish rebels.
AP via foxnews
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| Small bomb explodes in Istanbul - no injuries
25/11/2005 - A small bomb exploded outside a massage and acupuncture clinic in Istanbul, Turkey, causing some damage but no injuries, the Anatolia news agency reported today.
The motive for the overnight attack outside the clinic in the low-income Zeytinburnu district was not clear.
Autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels have been blamed for a series of attacks in Istanbul in recent months and militant Islamic or leftist groups are also active in the city. - IOL
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| Leading Turkey reporters charged
By Sarah Rainsford BBC News, Istanbul
A prosecutor in Istanbul has filed charges against five prominent Turkish newspaper columnists who are accused of insulting the judiciary. It is the latest in a series of cases brought against some of the best-known writers under a controversial Article 301 of the new penal code. More than 60 of them are on trial under Article 301 that makes it a crime to insult Turkishness or state organs. EU officials say Article 301 is the cause for serious concern.
Sensitive subject
There is a very thin line in Turkish law between criticism and insult, and writers and publishers here keep on stepping over it.
Now another five men have joined their ranks, this time accused of insulting the judiciary. They all wrote newspaper columns in September after a court intervened to stop a controversial academic conference on the fate of the Ottoman Armenians. It is one of the most sensitive subjects in the country.
The columns called the court ruling nonsense, a travesty of justice and an attack on the academic freedom of universities. But a group of nationalist lawyers took that as an insult and the men now face trial and potentially up to nine years in prison. The EU has expressed serious concern about the limits on freedom of expression in Turkey and the restrictive way Article 301 is interpreted. Turkey's best-known novelist, Orhan Pamuk, goes on trial in a fortnight charged under the same law. Many see that case as a test of Turkey's commitment to democratic reforms, but the list of the accused is growing despite pressure from Europe. The cases are becoming a trial of strength now between those who see Turkey's future within Europe and strong conservative and nationalist forces here who see the EU as a threat. - BBC
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| Four Turkish soldiers killed in Kurd rebel clash
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Kurdish rebels killed four Turkish soldiers in a clash overnight in a mountainous area on the Iraqi border, security officials said on Friday. F-16 warplanes took off from the main southeastern city of Diyarbakir and bombed the Gabbar mountain area in Sirnak province where the clash began on Thursday evening, they said.
Clashes were continuing and helicopters landed troops in the mountain to support an operation in pursuit of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants.
A security official said the operation was designed to wipe out the rebel presence in the mountains as they prepared to hole up for the winter. Education Minister Huseyin Celik, who was visiting Sirnak province, said one junior lieutenant and three privates were killed in the firefight.
"We came here to open a school and celebrate. We are very sad to hear this news. We must curse terror whatever form it takes," he was quoted as saying by Anatolian news agency.
The PKK took up arms against the state in 1984 with the aim of establishing an ethnic homeland in the mainly Kurdish southeast. More than 30,000 people have died in the conflict.
Violence dwindled after PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was captured in 1999, but the intensity of clashes picked up sharply this year after it called off a six-year unilateral ceasefire. alertnet.org
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| Turkey wants more CIA intelligence to fight PKK
ANKARA, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Turkey wants the United States to provide more intelligence to help it fight the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a government spokesman said on Monday during a visit by the head of the CIA.
Turkish forces have been battling an armed campaign by the PKK, which is on the U.S. and EU lists of foreign terrorist organisations, in the southeast since 1984.
The violence, at its height in the 1980s and 1990s, dwindled when the PKK declared a unilateral ceasefire in 1999, but the group recently took up arms again.
"Turkey has expectations from the United States especially in the fight against the separatist terrorist organisation, both in the sense of sharing information and also the measures that can be built on this," Justice Minister and government spokesman Cemil Cicek told a news conference. He did not elaborate.
Central Intelligence Agency Director Porter Goss is in Ankara to meet senior officials, including Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and members of the NATO country's key National Intelligence Organisation (MIT).
"He is here to discuss the many areas we cooperate on in intelligence, such as international terrorism and the PKK," a U.S. official in Ankara told Reuters.
FBI Director Robert Mueller visited Turkey only a few days ago. The United States considers Turkey, which is seeking EU membership, a key ally in the region. Turkey has borders with Iran, Iraq and Syria and close ties with Israel. Turkey has repeatedly called on the United States to crack down on PKK rebels based in northern Iraq. EU officials say Ankara can play a crucial role in bringing greater stability to the Middle East.
Broadcaster NTV said Goss and his Turkish counterparts were expected to consider measures against the PKK, and quoted a senior official as saying "If the CIA shares with us 25 percent of the intelligence it has on the PKK, we will have taken a large step in this struggle."
More than 30,000 people have been killed since the PKK launched a separatist insurgency in 1984. The group's leader, Abdullah Ocalan, was captured in 1999 and is imprisoned in an island jail south of Istanbul. - alertnet.org
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or is that Iran???
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CIA Director Porter Goss: Iran Has Nukes
Goss warns Ankara to be ready for a possible U.S. aerial operation against Iran and Syria
15 December 2005: As people in the U.S. readied themselves for Christmas, few were aware that CIA Director Porter Goss was in Ankara, Turkey on Monday, engaged in a meeting that lasted over four hours with Turkish Intelligence officials. Goss, accompanied by a large delegation, brought secret data about Iran as he met with officials of the Milli Istihbarat Teskilati, or MIT. Goss allegedly asked for Turkish support for the Bush administration's policies on Iran's nuclear activities, telling Turkish officials that Iran has nuclear weapons, a situation that created a huge threat to Turkey and other countries in the region.
Goss said that Iran sees Turkey as an enemy and will "export its regime," warning Ankara to be ready for a possible U.S. aerial operation against Iran and Syria.
On Tuesday Goss was driven in his armored BMW to a meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Additional dialogue reportedly focused on the intelligence data, with Goss warning Ankara to be ready for a possible U.S. aerial operation against Iran and Syria. - .homelandsecurityus.com
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that will help Al Queda hit Turkey: how convenient
so coincidental to the new "bird flu" outbreak too
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CIA Warns Turkey of Al-Qaeda's Action Plan
By Sedat Gunec, Ankara - Published: Thursday, January 05, 2006 zaman.com
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) warned Turkey that the terrorist network, al-Qaeda plans to attack the country with high rate radiation-nuclear materials.
CIA Director Porter Goss held top-level meetings with the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), and visited the General Security Directorate during his three day-visit to the Turkish capital Ankara recently.
Goss mentioned terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda and the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) could easily be destroyed with the help of shared intelligence, and steps to further share information were undertaken upon his return to the United States.
CIA sent the MIT a secret al-Qaeda cryptic message last week, in which reportedly the terror organization will send nuclear materials including high rate-radiation to selected targets by using international cargo companies such as UPS and FedEx.
Turkey's Intelligence Undersecretary warned the Security Directorate about the CIA's coded message.
MIT and the General Security Directorate investigated the cargo packages sent to Turkey through international transport companies.
Top-level security precautions were taken in the cargo departments of international airports such as Istanbul Ataturk, Sabiha Gokcen, Ankara Esenboga, Izmir Adnan Menderes and Antalya.
Al-Qaeda is claimed to have developed such action plans in order to not lose members.
- zaman.com
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Turkey's strategic location makes it a natural "energy bridge" between major oil producing areas in the Middle East and Caspian Sea regions on the one hand, and consumer markets in Europe on the other. Turkey's port of Ceyhan is an important outlet both for current Iraqi oil exports as well as for potential future Caspian oil exports. Turkey's Bosporus Straits are a major shipping "choke point" between the Black and Mediterranean Seas. Finally, Turkey is a rapidly growing energy consumer in its own right.
Oil and gas transportation is a crucial and contentious issue in Central Asia. Turkey and the United States have been pressing for a "Western route" pipeline that would carry oil from Azerbaijan's port of Baku through Azerbaijan and Georgia and then across Turkey to Ceyhan, at an estimated cost of US$1.8-$4 billion. This would be a major part of the proposed "Eurasian Corridor" to bring Caspian oil and gas to international markets via Turkey, and to bypass Russia and Iran. Russia, on the other hand, is promoting a "Northern route" across the Caucasus to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. From there, oil would be transported through the Bosporus (which Turkey claims is too crowded already, and a potential danger to Istanbul) or via a proposed pipeline from Bulgaria to Greece and the rest of Europe. Other proposals include a pipeline to Georgia's Black Sea port of Supsa, and a swap arrangement with, or export pipeline through, Iran. - worldpress.org
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BP's Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey pipelines system is a vast social and industrial structure, a gathering of men, women and machines stretching 1,750 kilometres (1,087 miles) across hills and valleys, mountains and plains, fields and deserts, gardens and rivers. A complete system, running from the Azerbaijani oil and gas fields offshore in the Caspian Sea to a tanker terminal on the Turkish Mediterranean coast.
The largest part of the system is the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, which will carry 1 million barrels of oil per day, from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli offshore oilfields, to a tanker terminal at Yumurtalik, just south of Ceyhan in Turkey. From there, the oil would be loaded onto three supertankers per day, which will carry it to Western Europe and the USA.
BP started construction in May 2003 and secured financing, including from public (taxpayers') money in February 2004. Construction of the main pipeline is expected to finish in the second half of 2005; however work will continue on pumping stations and ancillary oil pipelines until at least 2008.
Caspian oil development (including BTC pipeline) official website: www.caspiandevelopmentandexport.com
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Also being developed is a gas pipeline, which will run alongside the BTC pipeline for much of its length, called the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) (also known as the Shah Deniz pipeline, or the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline). This will carry at least 20 million cubic metres of natural gas per day, from the Shah Deniz offshore gasfield, to enter the Turkish gas distribution system at Erzurum.
BP wants to build the SCP line after it has finished building BTC, and to complete it in 2006.
Both pipelines will come ashore from the Caspian at the Sangachal terminal, just south of Baku, which is currently used for the existing smaller ‘Early Oil' pipelines from Baku to Novorossiysk and from Baku to Supsa
The pipelines system will remain in place for at least 40 years. A system through which will flow US$ 21 million worth of fuel every day, nearly $8 billion a year, or more than $230 billion in the system's lifetime. - bakuceyhan.org.
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Onshore oilfields from the Soviet era, south of Baku. The coastline here is littered with rusting derricks and pools of oil. The growth area, that would feed the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, is offshore. [Yury Urbansky/ CEE Bankwatch Network |
Officials Inaugurate U.S.-Backed Pipeline
by Andrea R. Mihailescu Washington (UPI) May 25, 2005
Officials Wednesday began filling the U.S.-backed $3.6 billion Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline transporting Caspian crude to western markets. Leaders from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Turkey inaugurated the pipeline at the opening ceremony at an oil terminal near the Azeri capital of Baku. Despite opposition to the pipeline, a few Russian representatives were present at the ceremony. The pipeline received opposition from many. Opposing any route that would bypass Russian territory, Russians unsuccessfully lobbied for their own pipeline route passing through Chechnya and Novorossiysk.
Iran also expressed its dissatisfaction with the pipeline as it sought its own territory as the optimum route for the passage of Caspian oil. For Arab monarchies, an alternative source of energy resources on the global market was a serious blow.
"We have managed to do this. We have done it," Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said during the opening ceremony. "Some people didn't think it was possible, some treated the project with suspicion, while others even wanted to impede this. But none of these worked. Thanks to our friends and neighbors - the union of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia - the assistance of the U.S. to the project ... "
Although the 1,100-mile pipeline may alleviate some western dependence on Middle East oil, the BTC faces a number of security challenges. One of the major challenges is the potential escalation over Nagorno Karabakh, which was overtaken by ethnic Armenian separatists over a decade ago. Other issues include possible crime along the BTC's route such as local tapping into the pipeline or environmentalists attack it.
In August, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey will conduct joint exercises in an effort to ensure the security of the pipeline, according to the Georgian defense ministry. The militaries of the three countries will receive training on how to prevent terror attacks, acts of sabotage and environmental catastrophes along the pipeline route. In case of sabotage or an environmental catastrophe on the territory of either of the transit countries, the military of the other two countries will provide assistance.
"Longstanding U.S. policy has been that the governments of the region are responsible for the security of the pipelines on their territory," Steven Mann, senior U.S. official responsible for Caspian pipelines, told UPI. "The United States can provide training and advice, but pipeline security is a national responsibility."
Georgia hired the Northrop Group to develop an aerial monitoring system along the pipeline's route and its adjacent area. Georgia received radar systems similar to those the U.S. currently uses in Afghanistan, according to Giorgi Chanturia, president of the Georgian International Oil Corporation.
The pipeline has a capacity to transport approximately 50 million tons annually. Currently standing at 95 percent completion, it will take 10 million barrels to fill the pipeline before pumping can begin. Under the agreement, the pipeline project is supposed to be completed in the first six months of 2005. For each day late, contractors would have to pay a fine of $500,000. Energy experts believe the pipeline contains the world's third-largest oil and gas reserves.
- spacedaily.com
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Putin Backs Turkey as Energy Hub
By Christian Lowe and Ercan Ersoy Reuters SAMSUN, Turkey -- The leaders of Russia, Turkey and Italy pledged on Thursday to boost oil and gas cooperation and bring Europe greater energy security after inaugurating a natural gas pipeline under the Black Sea.
The inauguration of the Blue Stream line also capped a big improvement in economic ties between Russia and NATO member Turkey as they set aside historic rivalries in favor of trade.
President Vladimir Putin raised the possibility of a second pipeline carrying Russian natural gas and oil to Turkey, while Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said his country aimed to become a key energy hub for Europe and the Middle East.
"The launch of the Blue Stream pipeline [linking Russia and Turkey] is ... a step toward strengthening our continent's energy security and diversifying energy supplies to consumers," Putin said at the ceremony in Turkey's Black Sea port of Samsun.
Italy's Eni and Russia's Gazprom built the pipeline.
"There is an opportunity to build another oil or gas pipeline under the Black Sea," Putin said.
Elucidating Putin's remarks, a senior Turkish energy official said Russia planned to build an oil pipeline along the route of Blue Stream. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia also hoped to increase the capacity of Blue Stream itself, including, if necessary, a second gas pipeline.
Putin said Russian companies were ready for further cooperation in the Turkish oil and gas market, not only increasing exports but also taking part in building infrastructure and exploration and extraction of oil including taking equity.
"Blue Stream gives us an opportunity for shipping gas to other third countries ... There is the opportunity for building new oil and gas transport systems delivering to southern Italy, to the south of Europe as a whole and to Israel," Putin said. "This year Blue Stream will transport 3.7 billion cubic metres of gas. If Blue Stream reaches its planned capacity, then overall Russian gas exports to Turkey will be 30 billion cubic meters a year," he said.
Gazprom chairman Alexei Miller told reporters his company was thinking of building a liquefied natural gas plant in Turkey with an annual capacity of 5 million tons, either in Izmir on the Aegean Sea or in Ceyhan. "It is possible to increase the Russian gas going to Israel and to deliver Russian gas to be turned into LNG in Turkey and then to export that LNG to third countries," he said.
Erdogan tried to convince Putin and Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of the value of a pipeline carrying Russian crude from Samsun to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. This would help relieve congestion in Turkey's Bosporus.
"The line will provide safe transportation of oil to the Mediterranean and will increase security in [the Bosphorus] by reducing tanker traffic," Erdogan said.
A Turkish official said the Russians seemed favorable to the pipeline, despite earlier fears they were hostile. Eni chief executive Paolo Scaroni also expressed interest. For Russia and other Black Sea states, the Bosporus provides the only outlet to world markets for oil and products exports.
- moscow times.
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Gazprom - The Gas & Media monopoly
The Blue stream is intended for deliveries of the Russian natural gas to Turkey going under the Black
Sea, avoiding third countries? issues. The project presumes an additional new way of gas delivery
from Russia to Turkey in contrast to gas transportation via the Ukraine, Moldova, Romania and
Bulgaria being under operation for years. Deliveries of gas by the Blue stream pipeline will
essentially raise reliability of gas supplies to Turkey to develop gas market and gas infrastructure
of this country. - Gazprom
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Blast injures five in southern Turkey
ISN SECURITY WATCH (Tuesday, 31 January: 09.18 CET) – Five people have been wounded in an explosion at the Turkish-US Friendship Association building in the southern Turkish city of Adana, news agencies reported.
Reports cited Turkish police as saying that the bomb had been planted in the reception room of the building in central Adana late on Monday.
Four English-language students and a janitor were wounded in the blast.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Adana is also the home of the Incirlik Air Base, which the US military uses for supply operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. . - isn.ethz.ch
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Turkey: Supermarket bomb injures 12
13/02/2006 - A bomb exploded outside an Istanbul supermarket today, injuring at least 12 people, officials and media reports said.
Istanbul Gov Muammer Guler said at the scene that the blast was apparently caused by a bomb left at the supermarket.
One of the injured was reported to be in critical condition, private NTV television reported. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came five days after a Kurdish militant group claimed credit for a bomb attack at an internet cafe in the city. That attack killed one person and injured 15 others, including seven policemen.
Tensions have been high in Turkey with the approach of the seventh anniversary of the capture of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan on February 15.
Yesterday, about 600 Kurdish rebel sympathisers clashed with police and set a bus on fire to protest the solitary confinement of Ocalan. Since his capture, Ocalan has been kept on the Imrali prison island, near Istanbul. Kurdish guerrillas have been fighting for autonomy in the south-east since 1984, a battle that has so far claimed 37,000 lives.
The European Union and the United States consider the main rebel group, the Kurdistan Workers Party, of PKK, to be a terrorist organisation. The Kurdistan Freedoms Falcons, a militant group believed to be linked to the PKK, claimed responsibility for Thursday's bomb attack at the Internet cafe. - IOL
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Three killed, 14 injured in Turkey bomb blast
09/03/2006 - A bomb set off by suspected Kurdish guerrillas killed three people and injured 14 others today in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated south-east as militants intensified their fight for autonomy in the region.
Authorities were investigating whether a suicide bomber carried out the attack in the south-eastern city of Van, bordering Iran, the state-owned Anatolia news agency reported.
The blast, near a supermarket, heavily damaged a municipal vehicle and shattered the windows of several other vehicles and nearby houses and businesses, Anatolia said.
Ambulances ferried the injured to local hospitals as police and paramilitary police forces were deployed at the site.
Kurdish guerrillas have escalated their attacks recently. On Monday, suspected rebels killed four police officers in an ambush near the south-eastern city of Batman and detonated a bomb under the car of a military officer in the town of Idil in Sirnak province. The bomb attack injured one.
Guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, have recently escalated their attacks in the region, while Kurdish militants believed linked to the outlawed group have staged several bombings across Turkey during the past month.
The fighting has killed more than 37,000 people since 1984. - IOL
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read between the lines:
economic liberalism to fight 'terror'
social reform = corporate slavery
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Ankarapology: What will emerge from the General Staff's harsh statement?
Onder Aytac & Emre Uslu - 28 March 2006
A severely worded statement by the General Staff on March 20 fueled the controversy over the Van Public Prosecutor's indictment on bombings in Hakkari's Semdinli district. Here we will not go into the details about the statement but analyze what implications it might have on politics in Ankara.
Starting from the bombing in Semdinli last November, it has been clear that the dark clouds gathering over the region were eventually going to reach Ankara. With the prosecutor's indictment, the clouds eventually reached Ankara, causing thunderstorms and lightning. It turned into a storm with the General Staff's public statement accusing the public prosecutor and several other institutions, including the government.
In order to forecast what the dark cloud over Ankara could bring to Turkish political life, we need to evaluate a couple of developments together. The first is the resignation of Sabri Uzun, the head of the Turkish National Police's (TNP) intelligence division. The second development is a presentation by Istanbul Police Chief Celalettin Cerrah at a symposium organized by a branch of the Turkish General Staff, the Center of Excellence-Defense against Terrorism (COE-DAT). The third development is a proposed new law aimed at setting up an institution called the General Directorate of Security Management. This institution would be responsible for coordination between all the existing counter-terrorism institutions.
It is a well-known fact that Turkish military asked the government on several occasions to pass a tougher anti-terrorism bill to help fight against terrorism more effectively. However the government has ignored the military's demands so far, partly because it wanted to prevent harsh criticism from the European Union. Although both the General Staff and the General Directorate of the TNP have similar demands from the government, many police chiefs, many officials in the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), and some military officials are careful not to jeopardize the EU negotiation process by calling for a tougher anti-terrorism bill. They restrain themselves despite the fact that the existing law makes their work harder. They are ready to work under the current regulations.
Sabri Uzun was one of the leading police chiefs against a tougher anti-terror bill. This group of police officials believes that the nature of ethnic terror has changed. The terrorist group the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is weakened in the mountains and currently is relying on the success of the Kurdish political party in urban centers. Thus, according to them, harsher counter-terrorism measures do not contribute to the solution of the problem; rather, such measures could even worsen it. Empirical evidence and statistics show that in preventing terror attacks, police forces in urban centers are more successful than the gendarmerie in rural areas. Evidence also shows that there is no significant relationship between the implementation of harsher counter-terrorism measures and reduced terror group recruitment and preventing terror attacks especially. These groups of security personal believe that promoting interdependency and the market economy, and therefore market culture, in the region is the most effective solution for terrorism at this point. The EU process for this matter could be an opportunity to end terrorism. Thus they strongly support the EU negotiation process.
In contrast to the arguments of the military and Police General Directorate, statistics show that the police prevented more terror attacks in urban centers under the current law than was the case under the tougher former counter-terrorism bill. This success was achieved in spite of the fact that the PKK organized terror attacks in urban centers more than ever. Uzun's liberal stance against the military's demands for a tougher counter-terrorism bill was based on this scientific evidence and his organization's ability to understand the changing nature of the ethnic terror. Now with his resignation, this liberal voice has been silenced.
Not coincidentally, right after Uzun's resignation, the police chief of Islanbul, Celalettin Cerrah, raised demands similar to those of the military. In a symposium organized by the COE-DAT, despite the success of the Istanbul police in preventing terror plots by implementing the current law, Cerrah asked for up to 15 days of custody for suspected terrorists, special courts for counter-terrorism cases, etc. The demands of the police chief surprised many terrorism experts. Although one would agree that there is a mugging problem in Istanbul, it is hard to say that there is a serious terror problem. The police are simply successful in preventing terrorist plots in the city.
As the third development, the formation of the General Directorate of Security Management completes the puzzle about the new developments in Ankara, which indicates that the controversial anti-terrorism bill proposal most likely will be brought before Parliament in the coming days. Under the intense pressure of the Semdinli indictment, the government will be compelled to pass the controversial terrorism bill as a tribute to the military.
In order to distance the military from further controversy, demands for a tougher anti-terrorism bill are being voiced by the police chiefs. The place of the demand, a symposium organized the COE-DAT, shows that Cerrah's statement is somehow linked to the military's earlier demand.
Certainly what the military personnel and the police chiefs demand will make security personnel's work easier. Yet what we are not sure is if it will make Turkey's work equally easier during the EU negotiation process.
Now it is time to remind the prime minister of his cliche statement: "Even if the EU rejects Turkey, we will move on and implement the Copenhagen criteria as the Ankara criteria." The General Staff's harsh statement offers a difficult test of how "Ankara criteria" would be formed and what a civilian government could do for it. - thenewanatolian.com
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Turkish cabinet clears new anti-terror legislation
Güncelleme: 07:42 ET 18 Nisan 2006 Salı
ANKARA - The Turkish Cabinet on Monday approved new anti-terror legislation which expected to be tabled before the parliament for debate and a vote later this week.
Speaking at a press conference after a meeting of the cabinet late Monday, government spokesman and Justice Minister Cemil Cicek said that terrorism could not be prevented just by laws but that the draft legislation would strengthen the hand of security forces in dealing with acts of terrorism.
"This draft law is not designed to limit freedoms, is designed to establish public order to enable the use of freedoms comfortably," Cicek said.
The new anti-law draft foresees penalties of up to three years in prison for those carrying illegal placards and chanting illegal slogans.
In the draft Cicek said that they have abandoned the Council of Europe's definition of terrorism and retained the regulations as in previous laws which sees acts of force and violence as necessary for the definition of terrorism.
The intentional setting of fire in forests, committing crimes which would lead to the declaration of emergency rule and smuggling of historical artefacts have also been included in the definition of terrorist acts under the draft legislation.
Those who willingly or knowingly gave financial support to the terrorist organisation will face prison terms from one to five years and current sentences handed down to NGOs or institutions giving support to illegal actions or statements would be doubled. - ntvmsnbc.com
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"New Terror Bill Takes All Citizens Terrorist
17 NGOs demand new Anti-Terror Law be withdrawn, say they themselves will be treated as "unarmed terrorist organizations".TIHV says bill means "tolerance policy towards torture" and shifting from EU position.
BIA News Center 28/04/2006 BİA (Istanbul) -
Reaction to amendments proposed to Turkey's Anti-Terror Law mounted this week with new statements from human right organisations branding the move as one that will lead to systematic violations and 17 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) demanding a withdrawal of the Bill from Parliament.
Representatives of the 17 NGOs read a press statement in front of Istanbul's Sultanahmet Justice Hall on Thursday where an appeal was made to Turkish MPs to end the debate on the bill and reject it.
The move came after similar appeals from leading Turkish human rights groups including the Human Rights Association (IHD) and the Association for Human Rights and Solidarity with the Oppressed (MAZLUMDER).
On Wednesday, as the controversial bill was debated and approved by the Internal Affairs Commission of Parliament, the country's Human Rights Foundation (TIHV) joined in the criticism and said the law would not only shift Turkey from its previous EU projections but also meant a turn to "tolerance policy towards torture".
NGO's React Strongly
In the press statement they read out in Istanbul, representatives of the 17 NGOs united against the bill said "anti-terror laws will not prevent terror but make it more violence, push more innocent people on the side of terror" and argued Turkey did not need an Anti-Terror Law (TMY) but the supremacy of justice.
The statement said "in systems based justice where rights and those who own them are upheld, such laws are not required".
It criticised the draft for:
* Aiming to punish people for intent as well as actions whereas no judicial system should be able to punish intent.
* TMY does not cover new crimes. All offences that are listed in the TMY are already covered by the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) and are punished.
* Citizens are seen as terrorists in the draft.
Listing what would happen if the bill was approved in its current state, the NGOs said:
* Freedom of expression will be restricted.
* The right to rally and protest will be restricted.
* Press freedom will face punishment in the form of imprisonment.
* NGOs can be treated as "unarmed terror organisations"
* The right to collect and disseminate news will be seriously restricted.
* Just because of a sign during a protest suspects can be put on trial facing 15 years imprisonment on charges of terrorist organisation membership.
* Those who want to give innocent assistance can be put on trial on charges of providing finances for a terrorist organisation.
* Defence rights will be seriously restriced.
* A monetary award can lead to many innocent people being put on trial.
Jurists Association: Draft full of ambiguity
The Jurists Association which also undersigned the NGO statement simultaneously issued a report on the TMY draft where it was stressed that such a bill was not necessary.
The report said that an act of terror had not been defined in contemporary law or international documents and that in this context it was more a political, rather than a legal determination to identify whether an act against the law was in nature an act of terror. The report said the wording of the law itself was full of ambiguity and that any act that did not conform with any "type of offence" described elsewhere could be regarded as a "terror offence".
The NGOs that issued Thursday's statement are the Akabe Culture and Education Foundation, Akder Research Culture Foundation, Askon Businessmen Association, Egitim Bir-Sen (Union), Ensar Foundation, Gaye Foundation, Gunisigi Association, Hikmet Foundation, Jurists Association, Mazlumder Istanbul Branch, TİYEMDER, TİMAV, Consumers Union, Society and Law Researches Association, and the Volunteer Organisations of Turkey Foundation.
TIHV: Tolerance to Torture
In a separate development, Turkey's Human Rights Foundation (TIHV) said in its own statement against the controversial bill that it showed Turkey had come from a "zero-tolerance to torture" approach adopted due to the EU accession period, to one that could only be seen as "tolerance to torture".
TIHV said that if the bill was approved in Parliament in its current form, this would mean:
* Restrictions in every field of rights with the right to life, individual safety, freedom of expression and prohibition of torture coming at top of the list.
* As result of these restrictions the channels for the society to breathe through will be blocked.
* All opportunities to create social peace will be eliminated.
The Foundation summarised the contents of the Bill as:
* Eliminating the right to life under the excuse of security.
* Justifying torture and allowing it to re-produce.
* Creating a public opinion without reaction to lawlessness and branding and treating the freedom of expression as same as "terror".
TIHV said the draft law needed to be criticised and evaluated according to the standards and norms of international human rights documents.
Arguing that with the bill, "suspect rights are becoming exceptions, restrictions are becoming regulations" the Foundation expressed serious concern over restrictions on access to attorneys and the detention periods of 4 to 15 days which it said paved the way for "systematic torture". (TK/AD/II/YE)
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| "Rice Leaves Ankara Pleased"
Prof. Dr. Dedeoglu: "Chaotic conditions not in interests of USA. America concerned over risk of independent Kurdistan in Iran. Military buildup at borders against possible declaration of independent Kurdistan as well as the PKK and US policy. "
BIA News Center 28/04/2006 Tolga KORKUT BİA (Istanbul) -
Prof. Dr. Beril Dedeoglu from the Galatasaray University International Affairs Department says chaotic conditions in the Middle East and Black Sea region are not in the interests of the United States but that until a balance of power is achieved, neither societies nor states will take sides and the chaos will pursue.
Dedoglu evaluated recent developments including US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice's visit to Turkey, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's visit to Iraq, the Iran-USA tension as well as Turkey's military buildup in the Southeast and the new Anti-Terrorism Bill for Bianet.
"Turkey does not have the opportunity to follow a very tense policy with the USA nor is there any reason for it" Dedeoglu said, adding, "this is the path that is being pursued at the time being. Dedeoglu said that the tension between the USA and Iran as well as the Iraqi Kurdistan administration's role were determining factors for regional developments and summarised his views of the current developments in the region for Bianet as follows:
Rumsfeld in Iraq: "Rumsfeld's visit to Iraq is most likely related to Iran. It is understood that Iran is involved in some cross-border initiatives in Iraq and these are directly related to the Kurdish region. The Kurds are disturbed over this. It is understood they have called in the USA for military duty".
Rice in Turkey: "The Kurds in the region are also of interest to Turkey. If a cross-border operation is going to take place, Turkey says this cannot happen without it. The USA says, on the other hand, that it is not the time. That is why Rice is here".
USA and Kurdistan: "There is a risk of a declaration of an independent Kurdistan. The internal power struggle in Iraq continued. Turkey does not accept this. The USA will most likely change tactic and decrease its support to the Kurds. Under this framework, it is possible to say that the USA-Turkey alliance will strengthen".
"Sides appear persuaded"
Turkey's Persuasion: "The first problem is to persuade Turkey. The problem relates to a crisis developing between Iran and Iraq. The tension over the nuclear armament period has escalated. If we read what lies under these, in reality no one is keen to strike but Iran does not approve of an independent Kurdistan in the region and for the USA to be there".
Troop deployment to Southeast: "Turkey resists by saying the USA can be there but if it uses the Kurds against me, I will not tolerate that. The soldiers at the borders should not necessarily be seen as being there for a cross-border operation. This buildup is against the PKK, the possibility of the declaration of an independent Kurdistan as well as USA policy".
"But both sides look as if they are persuaded. The USA is not objecting to Turkish soldiers being at the border even at point zero. As far as we understand, Rice left Ankara pleased".
Anti-Terror Law: "When you take such a position at the border the first measure will be directed inside. The Anti-Terror Law aims to break the connection between the PKK inside with its external links. It is not possible to search for or find democratic elements in that movement".
"Strategic Vision"
Dedeoglu says the USA has been following a strategy of "linking its leaps" that is spread over 4-5 years and that is related to the integrity of Iraq, the USA policy on the Black Sea and even the amendment draft to the Anti-Terror Law.
"The primary issue of disagreement is not the current situation" he says. "Related to the tension between Iran and the USA, a strategic vision means a period of 4-5 years. The USA is at this time conducting talks to be able to link each leap with the other. This is a linking, a conciliation operation." "I believe that the USA is persuaded that the territorial integrity of Iraq should be retained for a while longer. Since the beginning of the crisis, there is for the first time an overlap between its own conditions and Turkey's demands: The declaration of an independent Kurdistan will not bother the USA too much but will it will crumble the Sunni and Shiite agreement; the structure they are trying to build in Iraq will become upside down".
Dedeoglu continued with his evaluation as follows:
Tension cannot continue in US-Turkey relations: "The USA, if the term can be used, has 'fallen prisoner' to the policy of the Kurds in Iraq. It is possible that the conflict with Iran will be based on this.
"While the USA has set up its bases in Bulgaria, how long can it continue a policy based on tension with Turkey? It has to act together with its allies to have the bases in Bulgaria be operational and for them to be seen as legitimate. "It should be seen that under this framework, the talks being conducted are related to the Black Sea.
USA-Iran: "The USA is forcing Iran to make a choice. It is saying 'join my side by changing'. Iran has indicated that it will not do so. So the USA is saying 'those on Iran's side should gather on one side'. Otherwise I do not think they are disturbed personally over the Iranian President".
USA foreign policy: "Whoever comes to power in the USA in the coming period, it is not possible for them to change the current expansion. An overhaul could be possible through cooperation. The Republicans have already started to use this methid. USA policies are not linear, this situation will make it a great power".
Turkey's foreign policy: "As we have no access to all of the data, we cannot see the scene in its totality. But one leg that should not be forgotten in Turkey's foreign policy is the European Union (EU). The Iran-Iraq issue is an operative situation. The EU, however, is a political choice. Turkey should not end up in a situation forcing it to side-track from this. The unchanging reality relation with the USA should be evaluated taking into account the EU. Turkey should look at ways of acting together with countries within the EU (TK/II/YE)
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Turkish army claims right to pursue rebels in Iraq
May 2, 2006 ANKARA -- metimes.com
The Turkish army said on Tuesday that it reserves the right to venture into neighboring Iraq to pursue separatist Kurdish rebels based there, but denied reports that such operations were already underway.
"All our activities ... are taking place within our borders," General Bekir Kalyoncu, head of operations at the general staff, told a group of reporters, Anatolia news agency reported. "If the conditions [for a cross-border operation] arise, Turkey will use its rights as any sovereign country," he said. "Those conditions are outlined in the UN Charter."
Turkey has amassed troops along the border with Iraq for what officials describe as a large-scale effort to prevent increasing infiltrations by rebels from the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), based in mountainous hideouts in northern Iraq.
The army has repeatedly said that Article 51 of the UN Charter provides for the right of "hot pursuit" against the PKK on Iraqi territory.
The article acknowledges the right "of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security".
Ankara has long urged Washington and Baghdad to root out the PKK from northern Iraq, but it has been told that violence in other parts of the conflict-torn country is their priority.
The PKK, blacklisted as a terrorist group by Ankara, the European Union and the United States, has been fighting the government since 1984 when it took up arms for Kurdish self-rule in adjoining southeast Turkey.
"The movement of the terrorists has become easier because no forces of the Iraqi government are present on the other side of border to ensure control," Kalyoncu said, referring to northern Iraq, which is administered by the Iraqi Kurds.
At least 20 members of the security forces have been killed in clashes with the PKK and landmine attacks blamed on the rebels in the southeast this year. The PKK has lost at least 53 people.
Kurdish militants have also claimed eight bomb attacks in urban centers, which claimed four lives and left 95 people injured.
The Turkish army conducted incursions into northern Iraq before the 2003 US-led invasion, but Washington is opposed to similar operations at present on the grounds that they could further complicate the troubled security situation.
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see also The US betrays the Kurds again: American-Turkish rapprochement over the Iranian crisis
This Anti-Terror Law is aimed at the Islamists
Ilnur Cevik - 01 May 2006 - the new anatolian
Close scrutiny of the proposed Anti-Terror Law has shown us that the bill in fact is not really designed to fight terrorism, but is clearly aimed at the Islamists in Turkey. So all of the debates over the past few weeks in essence on the secessionist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terror group have in fact turned into a farce.
The opposition has been accusing the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party of setting a trap to pave the way to allow an amnesty for PKK terrorists led by Abdullah Ocalan. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been up in arms claiming the law was designed to repress the Kurdish masses living in eastern and southeastern Turkey.
But what none of us could see during these debates was that the law does not target the PKK or the Kurdish masses living in our country.
What it does is directly target the masses with religious sensitivities and regards all their activities as acts of terrorism, thus opening the door to persecute the Turkey's Islamists, just like in the old days.
The so-called pro-religious press in Turkey was wide awake when the bill was first introduced. Some of them even went as far as to butter up the government as they have been doing in the past few years. But then some of the papers that are not so close to the AK party started opposing the bill. Then the more moderate pro-religious newspapers started raising the alarm. Now we see prominent pro-religious writers like Fehmi Koru of daily Yeni Safak vehemently warning against the anti-terror bill.
At last they have realized that in fact the law is not aimed at the rising PKK terrorist activities in Turkey at all, but is a part of the old paranoia: that fundamentalism is on the rise in Turkey and has to be crushed at all costs. In the past, the military used to push the Ecevit and Yilmaz governments to legislate tough laws against people with religious sensitivities on the pretext of fighting fundamentalism. Many people felt those days were over once the masses voted the AK party into office and started a new era. But the latest anti-terror laws show that the AK party has also bowed to pressures from the conservative establishment in Turkey at the cost of alienating the masses with religious sensitivities.
That's why the pro-religious press and its prominent writers are all screaming in a chorus of protests.
We are told the government has been stalling on the Anti-Terror Law for more than a year. But in the end, the rise in PKK terrorism created an environment where there were rising calls for the government to act, and the AK Party had to reluctantly draft the law.
It remains to be seen who instigated the violence in Turkey and created an environment for the resurrection of the Anti-Terror Law. What is clear, however, is that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been pushed into a tight spot. If he fails to enact the law, he will have to confront the forces who badly want this law and if he does legislate the bill, he will face charges of being a sellout
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Pakistan, Turkey agree to strengthen anti-terror cooperation
Zeynep Gurcanli - The New Anatolian / Ankara - May 3rd - 2006
Even as it continues to attract domestic controversy, the Turkish anti-terror bill has received surprise support from a foreign country: Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Han Serpao underlined late Friday that all steps taken to deal with terrorism would be beneficial.
"Such measures won't threaten democracy," he said in an exclusive interview with The New Anatolian.
Visiting Ankara last week, Serpao, whose country is also taking tougher anti-terror measures, had an intensive meeting on security, especially the issues of counter-terrorism and transnational crime, with his Turkish counterpart Abdulkadir Aksu. The visiting official was also received by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc.
"We discussed a number of issues related to security, especially terrorism, counter-terrorism and how to help each other," Serpao explained. "We already have an agreement as far as counter-terrorism is concerned which includes sharing information and experiences. During this visit, we signed an agreement on the exchange of police and law enforcement officers for training."
Describing this new agreement as a "another important step in security cooperation between Turkey and Pakistan," Serpao continued, "This visit has strengthened our relationship and has also provided us with more expertise on counter-terrorism and transnational crime."
Human trafficking
The issue of human trafficking was also discussed during the Pakistani interior minister's visit to Ankara.
"A lot of Pakistanis wanted to use Turkey as a bridge and go to Europe not so long ago," he explained. "We discussed a numbers of steps that Pakistan has taken to stop that trend. As far as human trafficking is concerned, we have very strict laws. Now we have a monitoring committee, anti-human trafficking units and border security is being enhanced. That's made a difference. But we have a long border with Iran and now we're also establishing more checkpoints there. I've visited the area myself and we've held border meetings with Iran."
Besides bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Turkey, to combat human trafficking there's also a quadripartite mechanism that includes Iran and Greece, Serpao explained during talks with Turkish officials. "We also addressed the agenda for joint meetings between the four countries: Turkey, Pakistan, Greece and Iran. The next secretarial meeting will be held in Pakistan and the ministerial meeting will be in Turkey," Serpao explained.
'We've deported all foreign students at medreses …'
The Pakistani interior minister also gave Turkish officials details of measures taken by his country to deal with Islamic extremism. "Pakistan had taken some steps on these issues and will continue to do so," the visiting minister said, listing his country's measures to deal with Islamic extremism.
"We found and closed 16 organizations which were involved in either terrorism or extremism in Pakistan," he explained, "There have also been reforms related to medreses [Islamic schools] so they're now all registered and we're monitoring their financing. We've also begun to very closely monitor calls for prayer and Friday prayers. We've also sent all foreign students at medreses, including Turks, back to their countries of origin."
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Police on trial for Kurd attack
By Sarah Rainsford , Van - BBC News - 2006/05/04
Two military police officers have gone on trial in Turkey charged with an attack on a shop owned by a supporter of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
One man was killed and another injured in the grenade attack last November in Semdinli, near the Iraqi border.
The prosecution says the officers were part of an execution squad, set up to target suspected insurgents.
No senior military figure in Turkey has ever been prosecuted for human rights abuses against the Kurds.
Dozens of lawyers and human rights activists have descended on Van, in eastern Turkey, for this trial, already hugely controversial before it has even begun.
The accused men are paramilitary intelligence officers, arrested at the scene of a grenade attack last November.
'Vital investigation'
Most people in this region are Kurdish and they see the case as proof that the Turkish security forces are resorting to illegal practices, common at the height of the fighting here in the 1990s.
No senior military figure has ever been prosecuted for human rights abuses against the Kurds, so observers say it is vital these allegations are investigated thoroughly.
But there are concerns about how independent the courts in Van can be. The state prosecutor was suspended from duty after his indictment called for a parallel investigation into a senior military commander. That same commander has spoken out publicly in defence of one of the accused. Local lawyers believe these are warning shots to the trial judge not to dig too deeply.
Amnesty International calls it flagrant interference, warning it may have a chilling effect on the proper administration of justice.
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Gunman injures five Turkish judges in court attack
By Hidir Goktas 17th May 2006 - ANKARA (Reuters) - yahoo.com
A gunman opened fire in Turkey's top administrative court on Wednesday, injuring five judges in a shooting which the country's leaders condemned as an attack on its secular establishment.
The court's deputy chairwoman said the assailant described himself as a "soldier of Allah" as he carried out the attack. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said it would go down as a "black mark in the Republic's history."
The court, the Council of State, has faced fierce criticism in Islamist circles for hardline implementation of secularist laws such as a headscarf ban in universities and state offices.
The attacker burst into the court's second chamber and started shooting with a handgun during a committee meeting at around 10 a.m. (0700 GMT).
The wounded were treated in hospital and one judge was in a critical condition with head injuries. The chamber's chairman Mustafa Birden was among the injured. A court official initially said one judge died in the attack.
Media reports identified the attacker as a lawyer registered with the Istanbul Bar Association and said he had gone to the court on Tuesday but had been prevented from entering by police.
The CNN Turk Web site reported the assailant as saying in interrogation he had targeted the judges because of a ruling in February preventing a woman from becoming a head teacher because she wore a headscarf. It did not give a source for the report.
"I condemn this ugly attack," Sezer said in a statement. "Pressure and threats will not intimidate the Turkish judiciary, which will continue its constitutional duties bound to the secular and democratic Republic," he said.
SOLDIERS OF ALLAH
Islamic militants, Kurdish separatists and far-leftists have all carried out attacks in Turkey in recent years.
"The target of the attack is the constitution as well as the Council of State ... Turkey is being dragged toward a very dangerous place," opposition leader Deniz Baykal told reporters.
Television pictures showed injured people being carried away to ambulances from the court in the heart of Ankara. Police imposed tight security around the building.
The gunman had shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) and "may God's wrath be upon you" as he carried out the attack, private news channel NTV reported witnesses as saying.
"The attacker entered the chamber during a meeting and opened fire on each of the members, saying 'we are soldiers of Allah," Council of State Deputy Chairwoman Tansel Colasan told reporters.
In the wake of the attack, local media highlighted February reports in the country's Islamist media which sharply criticised a court ruling banning a head teacher from office. One newspaper published photographs of the judges behind the decision, including some of those wounded on Wednesday.
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Turkey now a police state
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Jurist Prosecuted for Criticizing Terror Law
Jurist Dogan investigated by Beyoglu Prosecutor for an article voicing views on new Anti-Terror Bill and its place in the scope of international law. Suspect is teacher of "defendant rights and defence in practice" and author of book under same title.
BIA News Center 26/05/2006 Erol ONDEROGLU
BİA (Istanbul) -
Acting under instructions from the Justice Ministry, the Istanbul Beyoglu Chief Republic Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation against jurist Erdal Dogan for an article titled "Direct Warfare Concept: The Anti-Terror Law (TMY)" that was published in the pro-Kurdish Ulkede Ozgur Gundem newspaper.
Lawyer Dogan, who for four years has been a teacher at the Istanbul Bar Association Internship Training Centre, gave a statement to the prosecutor on May 25, Thursday, under the investigation launched on orders from justice Fatma Feyza Sahin of the Justice Ministry Penal Affairs General Directorate.
In his statement to Republic Prosecutor Nihat Erdem, Dogan said it was his professional duty to express opinions, write articles and make propositions on the issues of human rights law and defendant rights law as well as on draft bills related to these because it was his specific area of work and expertise.
Dogan's article published in the April 21, 2006 issue of the newspaper, evaluated the concept of anti-terrorism in the scope of international law and expressed the view "Even though the Justice Minister says it has not been brought out against the people, the TMY, which contains the concept of direct warfare, is a law for the state to make war on its people".
The defendant is a teacher of "Defendant Rights and Defence in Practice" within a professional training scheme of Penal Code, Defendant Rights and Defence, European Convention of Human Rights and Criminal Proceedings Law, at the Istanbul Bar Association Internship Training Centre.
Dogan is also author of the book "Defendant Rights and Defence", published by the Istanbul Bar Association. (EO/II/YE)
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