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

REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-.RNISTA STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASIN ÖZETi
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ftMeans must be sought for another cease-fire. Were
backyard neiohbors with both the PKK and the state. When
these two po~ers start fi¥.hting,bombs fall on us. That's why
we want peace. And we 11side with whoever takes the first
step towards I:>eace,"he added. . .
Kaya said they wanted.~e local electIOns of March 1994
held under peaceful conditions..
"We want the real candidates of our people to get elected.
To ensure voters' safety, we'll do whatever is required of
us," he said. .
"The solution is freedom, democracy, and the brotherhood
of R;0ples," he concluded.
Greek deputiès on the pulpit"
Following Kara's speech, the presente was announced of
a Greek delegatIOn comprised of ~eputies çf PASOK, the
New Democracy Party, and the Political Spnng Party at the
convention hall. Later on, PASOK deputy Kostas Batulas
was called on to deliver a speech. .
Batulas started his speech by wishing success, on behalf
of the Greek Parliament, to "the heroic struggle of the Kurdish
people, the DEP conventioll and the Kurdish people."
Clanrung that all international institutions demanded the
right of self-determination accorded to nations, he said human
rights must also be proteCted, adding "May God help
you." Eleni Leonditis, representative of the International
Struggle for the Rights and Freedoms of Peoples, said her
orgamzation supported the "holy struggle of the Kurdish
people for self-determination."
"Today Kurds are livin:gunder the sword of war and violence.
Kurdish villages remind one of war-torn areas. Innocen~'people
are being killed, tortured. We receive such in~ormatlon
every day. Therefore we're going to start a campalOn
for political and financial support for the Kurdish peopfe.
Let It be known that Greek public opinion is with the Kurds.
My friends, we know that your struggle is for the rights of
your people. Your cadres are being murdered, we know that,
too.We respect and admire the Kurdish people's struggle,
and extend our support for its continuance," Leonditis added
Ḟollowing speeches by the Greek guests, DEP deputies
and delegates took the floor.
~EP deputy Zübeyir Aydar claimed that the case lodged
agalllst the DEP at the Constitutional Court was an attempt
to r,revent the I?EP from entering the local elections.
If the DEP ISbarred from the elections they will not be
true elections. And those elected cannot ru~ the country," he
alleged.
'.
Meanwhile, ~ gr~,upstarted shouting "Kurdistan shall be a
grave for FaSCism. They were later silenced by the memo
bers of the party council.
The crowd started shoutino "Martyrs don't die" when the
presence at the convention hall of Cihan Sincar, wife of
murdered DEP deputy Mehmet Sincar was announced.
Later on, a children's choir, the eldest only 9 and 10 years
old, sang Kurdish songs. They wore bandannas painted in
yellow, red, and green, the colors of the PKK.
Police bust daily Özgür Gündem
• Police raid offices, detain over 100 staffers
• Minister Saglar condemns 'violation of press freedom'
Turkish Daily News
. ANKARA- Police acting under orders from State Security
Courts this weekend launched Turkey's s~rongestc.rackdown
ever on a Turkish newspape~ a~d "aJ~ed offices of
the pro-Kurdi~h Ozgür Günde~ dally III v~o~s cities.
'The operatIOnstarted on Fnday with a raid on the Istanbul
headquarters of the newspaper, during which 110 people,
mostly journalists and printing house workers, were
oetained. A statement from the court claimed it '.:1 ..:3 j ~j.:-.
ing into claims that Özgür Gündem executives ,weremembers
of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and
SOIlJ.ehad even gone through guerilla training. .
Ozgür Gündem offices in tzmir, Adana, Mersin and
Batman provinces were raided on Saturday.
The newspaper's owner, Ya~ar Kaya, said on Sunday he
would demand compensation for what he called "billions
of liras of losses" and pointed out that such an operation
had not even been witnessed in Franco's Spain or Hitler's
Germany. . . .
"They are trying to silence the press in Turkey," he said.
"But I will make them pay for this. I will teach them a lesson.
If democracy is to be saved this way in Turkey, I want
them to open fire on me as weiL" Kaya said he would apply
to the COl!rtsfor..compensa~ion and describeq tj1eo~raliGnLiS"a
fiasco." Ozgür Gündem could nOtbe printed in
full o~ Saturday except f~r an eight-page paper dis!ribut~
. only III the southern provlllées of Adana and MerSIn. This
was before the Adana office was raided. The newspaper
did not appear on Sunday. Asked to comment on the re~' .
cent operation, Interior Minister Nahit Mente~e said the
police had merely complied with an order from the Istanbul
State Security Court (DGM) but refused to elaborate. .
In a written statement, the Istanbul DGM said two handguns,
gas masks, identity cards of soldiers killed by the
PKK, PKK vouchers worth TL 400 million, documents con-
~ai.ningPKK propaganda, and medical aid supplies had been
.selZed. . .
Kaya èlaimed a day later that the search had achieved
nothing. The DGM statement also claimed that PKK mem~
bers captured by security forces had testified that the newspaper's
employees maintained an organic connection with
the PKK.
Police on Sunday exhibited two unlicenced guns, six bullets
and 400 million lira worth of bills bearing the stamp of'
~hePKK'.spopular front, ERNK..They also showed journal-
IStSa vanety of backpacks, sleepmg bags and documentation
w~ch they said proved the paper had links with the organizatIOn.
Reaction:
¥eanwhile, there ~as been stro~g reaction ag~nst the operation.
The InternatIOnal Federation of Journalists (IFJ) ISsued
a strongly-worded condemnation on Saturday.
. . "The Turkish government appears to have no respect for
its own laws," said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White.
"Justification for.the ban of Özgür Gündem has not been
made public and no authorities in the government responded
to requests by journalists for information about the ban on
thepaper," White added."
Ozgür Gündem had been regularly harassed by the Turkish
authorities, the IFJ sâid, adding that 10 journalists work~
ing for the paper had been killed and many more detained.
The IFJ said it saw the banning of the Turkish newspaper as
P.artof a ge~era~ increase i~ attacks. on freedom of expressIOnby
all SidesIII the Kurdish confliCt.
"VIOlationshave included the killing of journalists, new~paper
v~ndors and media workers and the expulsion of media
from the southeast of the country," the IFJ said. .
CultureMini~ter fikri Saglar said, on the other hand, that.