Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

REVUE DE PRESSE~PRESS
Friday, October 22, 1993
REVIEW~BERHEVOKAÇAPÊ~RIVISTA STAMPA~DENTRO DE LA PRENSA~BASIN ÖZETi
turkish daily news
UN lists big tank imports by
Reuters
UNITED NATIONS- Greece and Turkey have
told the United Nations they each imported more
than 400 battle tanks during 1992 while anns manufacturing
countries reported exporting nearly 600
tanks to each, according to a U.N: document.
The tanks transfers involving Greece and Turkey
are by far the largest listed in the first U.N. register
of conventional arms, issued in accordance with a
1991 General Assembly resolution.
The resolution called on U.N. members to provide
details of annual weapons transfers in hopes that
greater openness and transparency would enhance
confidence, promote stability and help ease tensions.
"The greatest cause for concern in the U.N. register
is the Greek-Turkish anns race," commented
Natalie Goldring, deputy director of the British
American Security Infonnation Council, an independent
research organization with offices in London
and Washington.
Only 80 of the United. Nations' current 184 members
provided data for the 1992 register. They included
most of the main anns-producing countries,
such as the United States, RUSSia,Gennany, Britain,
France and China, but some of their replies were incomplete.
The register lists seven categories of weapons imports
and exports: battle tanks, armored combat vehicles,
large caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft,
attack helicopters. warships, and missiles and
missile launchers.
Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and North Korea
were among countries which proVIdedno data.
Russia listed no arms imports and, in the battle
tank category, said it exported only seven -- one to
Britain and SIXto Oman.
A footnote to the Russian entry said sales to Syria
of arms produced in the fonner Soviet Union and
not supplied from the territory of Russia were not
included.
The United States said it exported a total of 1,241
tanks, including 577 to Turkey, 492 to Greece, 96 to
Spain, 75 to Egypt and I to Singapore.
Greece listed imports of 447 tanks, saying 347
came from the United States and 100 from the Netherlands.
Turkey reported importing 427 tanks, including
416 from the United States and Il from Gennany.
The Netherlands entry confinns the export of 100
battle tanks of Gennan origin to Greece. Together
with the listed U.S. export of 492 to Greece, this
would make a total of 592. Gennany's record of tank
exports includes Il shipped to Turkey. Together
with the U.S. figure of 577 tanks for Turkey, that
country's imports would total 588.
The United States noted that possible discrepancies
in the number of transferred weapons, as reported
by exporting and importing states, were due to
diffef-nces in the perceived dates of transfer and in
the defll;ition of wbat constituted a reportable transfer.
India said its arms ex~rts consisted entirely of
four armored combat vehIcles sent to the Maldives -
- two built in the fonner Soviet Union and two in
Greece and Turkey
Britain. India's only weapons imports were given as
three combat aircraft from Britain.
. Pakistan said it had no anns exports and its only
unports were 97 battle tanks from China
. China reported the export of 97 battle 'tanks to Pakistan
as well as two armored combat vehicles to Sri
Lanka, 106large caliber artillery systems to Iran, 42
to Bangladesh and 18 to Sudan. It also said it exported
2 warships and 24 missiles and/or missile
launchers to thaIland.
.o~ina said it imported 26 combat aircraft and 144
nusslles and/or missile launchers from Russia
Japan listed no weapons exports and said iis only
weapons imports were 74 missiles and/or missile
launchers from the United States.
Israel said it exported four armored combat vehic1e~
to Botswana ~n~ one, of U.S. origin, to the
Umted States. It saId It also exported to the United
S!ates one lar~e caliber artillery system of U.S. origm,
and 40 mIssiles and/or missile launchers.
Isr~ellisted as its 9nly arms import 40 U.S. combat
alrcraft.Egypt saId battle tank components and
25 combat ah:crcifthad been imported from the United
States while Its exports consisted of 53 armored
combat vehicles for Algeria and six large caliber artillery
systems for Rwanda.
DEP asks tor probe into
counter-guerrilla claims
Turkish Daily News
ANKARA- The Kurdish-based Democracy Party (DEP)
on Thursday asked for a parliamentary investigation into
the so-called "counter-guerrilla" claims which have been
receiving much coverage by the media for some time.
. In a petition submitted to the office of the parliament
speaker, 13 DEP members of Parliament stated "Evidence
relating to a secret unit of the' state, dubbed by the public as
"counter-guerrilla," which has been debated fo.r some 20
years in Turkey, was reported in a weekly magazine a week
ago." In its Oct. 13-19 issue, the weekly Panorama magazme
wrote a story about a soldier who completed his nulitary
duty in a special department of the Anny called "B
teams" in !roubled southeastern Turkey.
Accordmg to the story, Yücel Y. (whose surname was
;.vithheld .by the magazine for security reasons) has been
mvolved 10 so-called counter-guerrilla activities as a member
of "B teams." He told the magazine that along with all
members of "B teams," he was involved in activIties such
as village r~~s and kidnappings. ~fter completing his compulsory
traInIng' as a commando In Manisa, the story said
23-year-old Yücel Y. was appointed to the command ofth~
Tunceli provincial gendannerie. "I was first ordered to
grow my hair and beard, then to wear clothes of the PICK
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