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

REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-RlVISTA STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASlN ÖZETi
Germany, Iran agree to combat terrorism
Ana/Olia/Associated
Vienna Summit
ends short on
concrete results
• Sources say divergent interests of nations
tripped up attempts to move toward an
all-European yardstick for national minorities
Associated
Press
Pre.çs
BONN, Germany- Iran's. I.ntellig~nce
Minister has paid a little-publiCIZed VISItto
Germany and th~ two s~des.have a&reedto step
up cooperation m fightmg mternatlOnal terrorism,
a newspaoer reported..
The newspâper Oie Welt said the minister,
Ali Fallahian held talks last week with chiefs
of Germany' ~intelligence and domest~csecurity
services, and Bernd Schmldbauer,
Chanceflor Helmut Kohl's top intelligence
aide.
Fallahian spoke to a small group of reporte,rs
in Bonn and told them Germany and Iran will
step up thei,r cooperation in fig~ting i~ternational
terr0l'!sm an~ drug smugglIn~, Ole Welt
said. He said the mtellIgence servIces of the
VIEN NA- Europe's leaders pledged
S~turday t~ p'rot~t ~h~nghts
of theu counlnes mmontles. But
their 32-nation meeting failed even
to agree on what a minority is. The
two-day Council of Europe summit
appeared to illustrate that the
tug of national interests on a continent.shaped
by centuries of distrust
remaine3 stronger than the goal of
breaking down barriers.
Against the ominous backdrop
of ethnic warfare in former Yugoslavia
the Vienna Declaration
adopied by participants condem-
ned .'territonal ambitions" and
"aggressive nationalism."
It proclai!"~ ~at :'protec~on .of
national mmontles IS an essential
element of stability and democratic
security" across Europe. And it
pledged establishmen~of a new international
Human Rights court to
give minorities due process.
But sources with access to the
closed meeting said divergent intetwo
countries have been cooperating for two embolden the Iranian government "to continue
years and now want to increase this coopera- domestic suppression and export of terrorism."
tion. The Mujahideen claim Ihal Iran's agenls
"We agreed with the Germans that we don't have killed or wounded alleast no opposition
want to work against each other in each other's figures in attacks abroad since the Islamic govcountry,~'
Fallahian was quoted as saying by ernment came to power. lran has repeatedly
Die Welt. The paper said Fallahi.l[l visited denied involvement in killings that have
Germany at the inVitationof Schmidbauer. occurred in France, Germany, Switzerland,
Spokesmen for the Germany's intelligence Italy, Turkey, Pakistan, Greek Cyprus and the
and Kohl's spokesman, Dieter Vogel, declined Middle East. But senior Western and Arab
to comment on the visit, with Vogel saying he diplomats say intelligence agencies have found
would not even confirm it took place.
links between Iran and terrorist networks.
Mujahideen Khalq, Iran's main opposition On May 27, German authorities charged an
group, issued a stateme~t CrItic!z~ng Iranian intelli~ence agenl and four Lebanese in
Germany's government for receiving the assassinatIOn of an Iranian Kurdish leader,
Fallahian. Sadiq Sharafkindi, and three colleagues in
The statement said the visit would only Berlin one year ago.
rests of participating nations tripped up attempts to move toward
an all-European yardstick for national minorities. Some
countries,likeGermany, have no large traditional non-
Germanic ethnic grouJJs but large recent influxes of Turks
and immigrants from former Yugoslavia. It opposed defining
national minorities purei)' by common language and
customs, arguing that Turkish guest workers," for instance,
were not historically or culturally part of Germany.
Other countries had different worries. Britain and France
would not be interested in any definition that would support
separatist aspirations in Northern Ireland or Corsica, for InStance.
The specter of Yugoslavia loomed over the conference,
But Slovak Prime Mmister Vladimir Meciar characterized
the minority problem as troubling "not only centra] or eastern
Europe but Europe as a whole."
"Human rights have human dimensions," he told reporters.
"But collective rights have ethnic dimensions, tnat's
the difference."
Still others argued for less emphasis on the collective
rights of nationahties and more support of individual rights.
Jn his speech to the assembly, Czech President Vaclav Havel,
whose republic is more ethnically homogeneous than
most emerging East European democracies, argued that undue
backing of group ri&htscould lead to "new unrest and
tension" across Europe. 'Attempts of this kind ... call into
question the very pnnciple of CIVicsociety and the indivi-
SIblerights of the individual," he said.
European leaders and conference organizers down-played
the differe~ces, however. They said it was a success in itself
that the European Council_ the oldest organization working
for unity, democracy and human rights throughout the continent
_ was able to hold a summit meeting for the first lime
in 44vears.
said a statement from the Vienna-based organization, which
monitors provisions of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act. "Suspects
of bOth politicaland ordinary crimes, children as well
as adults, are routinely and systematically tortured."
ce for alleged police torture and The organization's accusations mirrored charges raised by
other violations.
Amnestylriternational in its 1993 report, inc1udmg summary
Human rights The International Helsinki Federation
for Human Rights urged The Helsinki Federation condemned a "pattern of shoo-
executions of political suspects;
organization Turkey of to put an end to ponce ting and killing alleged suspects rather than bringing them to
torture that included electric court," saying hundreds have met their deaths in such a fashion.
blasts Turkey shocks to the genitals; beatings;
va~nal and anaI rape, sometimes As well, .the Federation criticized the high number of journalists
killèd and arrested in Turkey - it saId 16 were assassi-
The Associated Press
usmg truncheons, and death threatsnated
in 1992-1993 and 14 others were sentenced to a total
VIENNA- Turkey, one of the
nations attending a summit' of "In 1992-1993, at least 20 people
died under suspicious cir-
It showed some understanding, however, of the "immense
of more thàn 200 years in prison.
European democracies on issues
including human rights, was taken
to task outside the conferen-
Turkish police or gendarmerie," her extremist groups," and condemned their excesses.
cumstances while in custody of problems" Turkey faces in fightmg separatist Kurds and "ot-
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