Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
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REVUE DE PRESSE~PRESS REVIEW~BERHEVOKAÇAPÊ~RNISTA<br />
STAMPA~DENTRO DE LA PRENSA~BASIN ÖZET;<br />
Bonn prepares campaign<br />
for human rights in Turkey<br />
• Campaign to start after Bonn sorts out security and rights<br />
problems related to Turkeyand Turks in Germany<br />
By Murat Y<strong>et</strong>kin<br />
Turkish Daily News<br />
BONN/ANKARA- The German government is making<br />
preparations for a campaign regarding human<br />
rights violations in Turkey sources in Germany have<br />
said,<br />
The campaign is expected to start after Bonn sorts<br />
out security and civil and human rights problems related<br />
to Turkey and Turks in Germany,<br />
Talking to the TON on the condition of anonymity,<br />
German government sources said that Bonn:s cautious<br />
approach in accusing Turkey of not preventmg human<br />
rights violations.should not be mi- in<strong>de</strong>pen<strong>de</strong>nt Kurdish state carved<br />
sun<strong>de</strong>rstood as suggesting that it is out ofTurkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria,<br />
no longer interested in the subject. the PKK has been waging an armed<br />
Being a major and a harsh critic campaign since 1984 In which m~<br />
untillast year of human rights abu- re than 7,100 people have been kilses<br />
in Turkey, Germany has been led in eastern and southeastern Turcareful<br />
in raising the subject in re- key. The organization operates in<br />
cent contacts with Ankara.<br />
Germany un<strong>de</strong>r a number of cover<br />
Chancellor Helmut Kohl's visit or~anizations. The Kurdistan Comto<br />
Turkey on May 19-21, and Pri- mlttee in Cologne and the Popu~ar<br />
me Minister Tansu ç iller's visit to Front for the Liberation of Kurdls-<br />
Germany on September 20-22 have tan, ERNK (the so-called poli~cal<br />
provi<strong>de</strong>d examples of this appro- wing of the PKK) offices are Just<br />
ach. German government sources two,of f!1ese.Turkey argues that !Jrsay<br />
they do not want to link the gamzatlOns such as these, wh~ch<br />
close and historical relations b<strong>et</strong>- have been established by making<br />
ween the two countries to human uSe of the flexibility of German<br />
rights violations in Turkey, and es- laws, work as recruitment and fipecially<br />
to the Kurdish problem. nancial support o.ffices, for the<br />
But, they indicate, they still are fol- PKK, an~ ~as ~een .a~~mg Gerlowing<br />
closely <strong>de</strong>velopments in many to lmut therr actIvltles becauthese<br />
areas. German officials also se of this. The Moslem fundamenbelieve<br />
that more time ~hould ~e tali,st n<strong>et</strong>~or~ of Cemal<strong>et</strong>~in Kapgiven<br />
to Turkey to fulfillts proml-' Ian s, which aIms to establIsh a Feses<br />
and compl<strong>et</strong>e legal arrange- <strong>de</strong>ral Islamic State in Turkey with<br />
ments for more <strong>de</strong>mocracy in the Istanbul as its capital, and the Gercountry,<br />
"Now we are tryingto sort many based extensions of Turkey's<br />
out our own problems m the con- armed gangs on the fringe left, are<br />
text of human and civil rights, so- among the other problems consl<strong>de</strong>me<br />
of which are directly related to red in this framework. German of-<br />
Turker and Turkish citizens in Ger- ficials say they sympathize with<br />
many' , said one high ranking offi- Tu~key's complaints ~d, are ~rying<br />
cial. "Germany has un<strong>de</strong>rstood that their best for legal revISIons 10 orit<br />
has to solve its own human rights <strong>de</strong>r to curtail the activities of these<br />
problems before criticizing those in groups. On the other ~and, sources<br />
other countries". German officials 10 Germany say, the differences of<br />
list these problems that have to be opinion b<strong>et</strong>ween the German intelsolved<br />
as follows:<br />
ligence organization BND, the Co-<br />
• Curtailing of anti-Turkish ac- uncil. fo~ the Protection .of t,he<br />
tivities based in Germany: The ma- Constitution, the German mtenor<br />
jor problem in this field is .the acti- ministry, ll!1dthe foreign ministry<br />
vities of the secessionist Kurdistan is responsible for the <strong>de</strong>lays In<br />
Workers Party (PKK). Seeking an taking the necessary steps for a legal<br />
action against these groups,<br />
• Curtailing of xenophobic and<br />
neo-Nazi activities aimed at ~uestworkers<br />
and immigrants livIng in<br />
Germany:<br />
Officials say the high increase in<br />
the number of attacks against foreigners<br />
in Germany is proportionate<br />
to increasing unemployment and<br />
migration following the collapse of<br />
the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the reunification<br />
of Germany:<br />
The Solingen inci<strong>de</strong>nt on May 29<br />
in which 5 members of a Turkish<br />
family in Germany were mur<strong>de</strong>red<br />
in an arson attack, was a milestone<br />
in the Gernlan government's approach<br />
to organizations on the rightist<br />
fringe in the country. Neo-Nazi<br />
groups.were blamed in that attack.<br />
Two neo-Nazi's suspected of an<br />
earlier attack in Moelln are still on<br />
trial. German officials believe that<br />
such attacks do not only worsen<br />
Turkish-German relations, but also<br />
discredit Germany in international<br />
fora and revive World War II memories.<br />
The activities of some of<br />
the groups mentioned here have already<br />
been restricted, because they<br />
are in violation of German laws.<br />
• Regulating the civil rights of<br />
foreigners in Germany: Dual citizensnip<br />
is the major issue regarding<br />
the civil rights being <strong>de</strong>man<strong>de</strong>d by<br />
more than 1.8 million Turkish citizens<br />
in Germany,<br />
A Turkish Citizen actually has<br />
the rißht to become a German citizens<br />
If she/he fulfils certain conditions.<br />
But Turkish citizens refrain<br />
from becoming German citizens,<br />
fearing they Will lose inheritance<br />
rights in Turkey and end up with<br />
lesser rights to buy real estate and<br />
work in their motherland. German<br />
officials say the Turkish government<br />
also has some responsibilities<br />
in this respect and it should make<br />
the necessary legal amendments to<br />
make things 'easier for its citizens.<br />
But sources in Germany say that<br />
these problems are not the only<br />
ones regarding dual citizenship.<br />
The German government does not<br />
7