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

REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-RNISTA STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASIN ÖZETÎ
Ankara uninformed of Milliyet's
claim on 'incursion into Syria'
Turkish Daily News
ANKARA- A report in the Turkish daily
Milliyet this weekend that a military offensive
against Kurdish separatists had spread
into Syria to strike ,at suspected guerrilla
bases was met with surprise by Ankara officials.
'
Foreign Minister Hikmet Çetin said on
Sunday that "there is no information which I
have received on this issue." A senior security
official reached by telephone said that although
operations were continuing in Turkish
territory, he had heard of no cross"border
operation yet.
'
The mmister of the interior, Nahit
Mente~e, was quoted by the MilIiyet newspaper
on Saturday as saying that Syria was
supporting TUrkey's fightagainst the Kurdish
guerrillas, who have waged a nearly 10-
year battle for autonomy.
But Mentese would only say that troops
wereconducting operations on the Turkish
side of the Syrian border, near the town of
Suruç. Milliyet claimed that helicopters
carried soldiers into Syria, and on Sunday
quoted Prime Minister Tansu Çiller "confinning"
the report.
Ciller told journalists while travelling to
Aaana that there was "nothing to exaggerate"
and although the border could be
crossed from time to time, "this should not
beregarded as an operation in Syria~"
On Sunday, Milliyet said in another front
page report that Çlller had confirmed its
previous report.
. "T~e possibility of ~ cross-border operatIO~
IS ~!ways .there, .she was quoted as
saymg. From tIme to bme the cross-border
for~y~ take p~ace over Our eastern border.
ThIs ISa reqUl~ement ~om out of the job at
hand.We contmue domg Whateveris needed
to resolve .the terrorism problem. Crossborder
operatIOns have been and will continue
to De,on the agenda." '
D~ring t~e ~!~~t .to Adana, Çi11eralso
tol~ Journallst~, UlISISt~e time for Turkey's
nelgh~ors to display .thelr friendship."
Turkish troo~s bad I~ the_past crossed into
northern Iraq ID pursuIt of Kurdish guerillas,
but there have been no operations in Syria.
Milliyet's front page report said that Syria~
authQrities were informed about the operatIon.
O~gür Gündem, a pro-Kurdish newspaper
which has been accused of supportinO'
Kurdish demands, said on Sunday that th~
Mil\iyet story was completely boO'us and
that there was not even a security operation
on the Turkish side of the border. Gundem
!s famous for its immediate reports on Turk-
Ish operatIOns launched agamst separatist
c~mps. Turkey an9 Syria share a border 877
kilo~eters (526 rrules) !ong, which has been
used m the past for major smuO'O'linO' activi-
, ", ,00 0 '
ties..However, followinta series of physical
barners put up on the 1urkish side of the
border, infiltration of Kurdish militants into
Turkex to/0ugh Syria is known to have become
lirruted.
In ~987,Ankara and Damascus signed a
secunty protocol to cope with terrorism, and
the new coalition government has siO'ned
new protocols to implement the decisio~.
T?rkey has been pressuring Syria to extradlle
the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan
Wor~ers' Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan,
who ISknown to have a house in Damascus
and Latakia. The talks between the two
c?untries over this issue have recently inten-
SIfied.
The ministeL of the interior Nahit
Mente~e,.is to travel ~oSyria this m~nth, together
With the Turkish chief of police and
h~ has said he will table Ankara s con~erns
WIthregard to terrorism.
In a weekend ~nterview, Mentqe was
quot~d by a Turk.1sh newspaper as saying
th~t If ~e spotted Ocalan in Syria, he would
bnng him Dack.
Hurriyet quoted Mente~e as sa7inO' that
the ~KK leader, Abdullah "Apo' Ö~alan,
who IS hard to track down since he is constantly
on the move, has been in Damascus
for four 9ays, and that the Syrian authorities
ar~ keepmg hi.m incommunicado. Mente~e
saId that he Will be travellinO' to Syria in a
week. He will also make ;n on-the-spot
~~f~y of the situation in the Bekaa Valley.
see Apo, I will bring him back to Turkde
y ,have no.doubts about that," he reporte
Iy told the Journalist.
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It~a.k-KIJt~des-GB
Un Turc èonda.mné à 25 a.ns de prison da.ns le Kurdista.n ira.kien pour le meurtt~e
de journa.listes de la BBC
ERBIL (Ira.k), 8 ja.n (AFP) - Un guide turc a. jté conda.mné sa.medi à
vingt-six a.ns de prison à Erbil, dans la. zohe du nord de l' Ira.k sous contrOle
kurde, pour le meurtre en 1991 de deux journalistes britanniques free-la.nce de
la. BBC, a.-t-on a.ppris de source judicia.ire.
La. cour criminelle d'Erbil a. reconnu coupa.ble Ha.chim Jirki, 22 ans,des
meurtres de Cha.rles Ma.xwell et Nick della. Ca.sa.qu'il a.ida.ità traverser la.
frontière entre l'Ira.k et la. Turquie pour faire des reporta.ges sur
l'insurrection kurde da.ns le nord de l'Ira.k en ma.rs 1991.
La. cour ~'a. en reva.nch~ pa.s retenu de cha.rge contre Jirki pour le meurtre
de la. jeune épouse de della. Ca.sa.,Ràssa.na., dont le corps n'a. ja.ma.isété
retrouvj, a.lors que les ca.da.vres des deux hommes a.va.ientété découverts près
de la. frontière six mois plus t~rd. ,
Jirki a été conda.mné à vingt a.nsde prison pour les meurtres et six a.ns
pour le vol d'a.ppareils photos et d'argent.
Le guide s'éta.it rendu a.u printemps dernier à la. police kurde loca.le selon
la.queileil a reconnu a.voir tué ces trois journa.listes ca.r ils ne lui ava.ient
pas donné suffisa.mment d'a.rgent. Il a. pa.ssé dix mois en prison.â Erbil, siège
du "pa.rlement kurde" formé des principa.ux mouve~ents de l'opposition kurde a.u
régime de Sa.dda.m Hussein.
La. mère de Rosa.nna., Mme Ma.rygold Curling, quia.ssista.it a.u'procès, a
est,imé que vingt ans de pri son const itua.it un verd ict "modét~é pOUt~ meIJrtre".
Selon le 16is en vigueur a.u Kurdistan - les mêmes qu'en Irak , le jeune
homme a.va.itpu être conda.mné à mort si la. cour n'a.va.itpa.s pris en
cons'idération son Age (19 ans) au moment des faits.
Un co-a.ccus~ a, été condamné, à six a.ns de prison pour IIvol qua.lifié".
50 '