Information and liaison bulletin - Institut kurde de Paris
Information and liaison bulletin - Institut kurde de Paris
Information and liaison bulletin - Institut kurde de Paris
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Revue <strong>de</strong> Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro <strong>de</strong> la Prensa-Basin Ôzeti<br />
TODAYS ZAMAN<br />
November 7. 200<br />
Lea<strong>de</strong>r of the Nationalist Movement<br />
Party (MHP) Devlet Bahçeli termed the<br />
results of a meeting between Turkish<br />
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan <strong>and</strong><br />
US Presi<strong>de</strong>nt George W. Bush at the White<br />
House a mere "fiasco."<br />
Erdogan <strong>and</strong> Bush met on Monday to dis¬<br />
cuss cooperation against the terrorist<br />
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has<br />
carried out a series of <strong>de</strong>adly attacks over<br />
the past weeks in Turkey from bases in<br />
northern Iraq. Bush said he was commit¬<br />
ted to countering the militants <strong>and</strong> offered<br />
to share intelligence with Ankara without<br />
pledging further support or suggesting a<br />
joint military operation against the PKK<br />
contrary to expectations.<br />
Speaking at his party's group meeting<br />
yesterday, Bahçeli lamented: "There was<br />
no mention of eradication of the PKK, a<br />
possible Turkish cross-bor<strong>de</strong>r operation<br />
into northern Iraq, a joint Turkish-US<br />
operation against the PKK that would yield<br />
effective results, disb<strong>and</strong>ing the PKK<br />
camps in northern Iraq, h<strong>and</strong>ing over of<br />
the PKK lea<strong>de</strong>rs to Turkey or cutting logis¬<br />
tical support to the PKK, PKK militants in<br />
Mahmour <strong>and</strong> the K<strong>and</strong>il Mountains at the<br />
Oval Office meeting. Instead, the two<br />
MHP lea<strong>de</strong>r Bahçeli labels<br />
Erdogan-Bush meeting a 'fiasco'<br />
lea<strong>de</strong>rs beat the air <strong>and</strong> ma<strong>de</strong> special<br />
efforts to give a message of unity on some<br />
issues of secondary importance. The lea¬<br />
<strong>de</strong>rs reached a limited agreement at a<br />
time when Turkey has run out of patience<br />
[due to PKK violence]. This is a total di¬<br />
sappointment. The end result for Turkey<br />
has been disappointment <strong>and</strong> failure."<br />
Accusing the US of not being willing to<br />
take any concrete steps against the PKK,<br />
Bahçeli stressed that Erdogan's last US<br />
visit has once again proved this.<br />
"The prime minister, who went to Was¬<br />
hington to get Bush's approval about the<br />
steps to be taken for Turkey's national<br />
security, could not find the support he<br />
expected <strong>and</strong> had to return to Turkey with<br />
empty pledges about some ineffective<br />
steps. I would like to mention that I am<br />
<strong>de</strong>eply agitated due to the US adopting<br />
such a stance against Turkey <strong>and</strong> the<br />
prime minister placing Turkey in such an<br />
embarrassing situation. This meeting has<br />
shown that stability of a h<strong>and</strong>ful of pesh¬<br />
mergas in northern Iraq is more important<br />
<strong>and</strong> of greater priority than Turkey's secu¬<br />
rity <strong>and</strong> territorial integrity for our ally,<br />
the US," Bahçeli told his party members.<br />
TtmKiSH Daily News Yusuf KANLI. Novembers. 2007<br />
Released soldiers: Traitors or victims?<br />
Bahçeli also directed harsh criticism at the<br />
members of the pro-Kurdish Democratic<br />
Society Party (DTP) who acted as media¬<br />
tors for the release of eight Turkish sol¬<br />
diers who were taken hostage by the PKK<br />
militants last month.<br />
"The group who signed a so-called h<strong>and</strong>o¬<br />
ver document at a roadsi<strong>de</strong> table with a<br />
poster of the Imrali mur<strong>de</strong>rer [PKK lea<strong>de</strong>r<br />
Abdullah Ôcalan] has merely shown an<br />
example of treason. The <strong>de</strong>sperate events<br />
taking place during the release of our<br />
soldiers are a clear sign of the separatist<br />
PKK's willingness to start a new term of<br />
propag<strong>and</strong>a<br />
ad<strong>de</strong>d<br />
to legitimize itself," Bahçeli<br />
It's rather odd to see a lynching campaign against the soldiers who were taken<br />
hostage by the PKK for 14 days<br />
A lynching campaign is continuing<br />
by some people in Turkey against<br />
the eight soldiers who were taken hostage<br />
by the separatist outlawed Kurdistan Wor¬<br />
kers' Party (PKK) terrorist group on Oct.<br />
21 during an ambush at their post in<br />
the Daglica district of Hakkari, <strong>and</strong> were<br />
released 14 days later.<br />
The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society<br />
Party (DTP) <strong>and</strong> its three <strong>de</strong>puties who<br />
were involved in getting the soldiers re¬<br />
leased<br />
well.<br />
by the gang are un<strong>de</strong>r attack as<br />
While the DTP has been a source of di¬<br />
sappointment as it could not <strong>de</strong>ci<strong>de</strong> whe¬<br />
ther it is a political party trying to contri¬<br />
bute to resolution of the problems of the<br />
ethnic Kurdish people of this country<br />
through means of politics or an organ of<br />
the separatist terrorist gang, the at¬<br />
tacks against the soldiers, to say the<br />
least, is disgrace.<br />
What are the accusations?<br />
1- Some people are questioning whether<br />
the eight soldiers "surren<strong>de</strong>red" to the<br />
terrorists <strong>de</strong>spite the "continue fighting"<br />
or<strong>de</strong>r of their officer, <strong>and</strong> thus disobeyed<br />
comm<strong>and</strong>s;<br />
2- Some are suspecting that there might<br />
be at least one "mole" among the eight<br />
soldiers;<br />
3- Some are even claiming that the eight<br />
soldiers did not fight with the ambushing<br />
terrorist group at all <strong>and</strong> imply that they<br />
collaborated with the terrorists;<br />
4- The soldiers are accused of "hurting<br />
the honor <strong>and</strong> pri<strong>de</strong>" of the Turkish Armed<br />
Forces by falling into the h<strong>and</strong>s of the<br />
terrorists <strong>and</strong> becoming hostages;<br />
5- They are accused of "shaking the<br />
h<strong>and</strong>s of terrorists" <strong>and</strong> eating food at the<br />
same table with them.,<br />
6- They were accused of having hot tea<br />
in glass cups together with the terrorists<br />
while their families <strong>and</strong> the entire nation<br />
was praying for their safe return;<br />
7- They are accused of accepting <strong>de</strong>gra¬<br />
ding treatment by the terrorists <strong>and</strong> in a<br />
<strong>de</strong>featist manner appearing in front of the<br />
portrait of the chieftain of the terrorist<br />
gang during a "h<strong>and</strong>-over" ceremony<br />
when they were released...<br />
This list continues with such "credible"<br />
accusations...<br />
Naturally we cannot know whether there<br />
was any mole among the eight soldiers.<br />
We cannot have any i<strong>de</strong>a un<strong>de</strong>r what<br />
conditions they were fallen into the h<strong>and</strong>s<br />
of the gang either. Whether or not they<br />
disobeyed or<strong>de</strong>rs of their comm<strong>and</strong>ers;<br />
how they were cut off from other soldiers;<br />
how they were captured unhurt by the<br />
terrorists are not questions either that we<br />
can answer. Those questions will all be<br />
answered during their interrogation by the<br />
relevant military personnel <strong>and</strong> if they<br />
were guilty of any of those serious char¬<br />
ges, they naturally will face the military<br />
court <strong>and</strong> get an appropriate penalty.<br />
Otherwise, they will be acquitted of the<br />
charges, rehabilitated <strong>and</strong> continue ser¬<br />
ving the remaining part of their compulso¬<br />
ry military service.<br />
Summary execution<br />
However, even if one or two of them<br />
were moles, even if they were guilty of<br />
any of the charges that a military prosecu¬<br />
tor may bring against them, those eight<br />
soldiers will still be our sons, sons of their<br />
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