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

REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-RwISTA
STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASIN ÖZETi
Constitutional
Courtre-elects
tt
GÜDgör Ozden
Another term: Özden was
re-elected to post of presiding
judge with majority vote
. Turkish Daily News..
ANKARA- Yekta Güngör Ozden was reelected
to the post' of presiding judge of ~he
Constitutional Court on Thursday, extendmg
his term in office until1997, when he is expected
to refire. . ,
Özden's term in office expired on May 7. He
was elected in ~e ~rst roun.d by an abs?lute
majority vote, which ISessentlal for a candidate
to be elected. Although there has not been an
official statement, the general secre:
.tary of the Constitutional Court, Ali
Kadri Ediz announced after the election
that Ö~den had been re-elected.
Özden, 'speaking to jou~nalists
after the election, said the
Con'stitutional Court was a fully
independent and imp~al i~stitulio.n .
whicn fulfilled its dutles with sensItivity.
He also said the elec~on had •
been conducted in a democratlc manner
by the members of the court:
"The Constitutional Court IS the
guarantee of everybody's rights and
freedoms. That is why ~9ple shouldnot
~ to undermine It, Ozden said.
After expres~ing th~tlife was
becomino more difficult IIITurkey as
the number of reliable institutions
declined, Özden said: "The
Constitiitional Court is a united one.
:Thete is no differences between the
members. If I am elected today, it
can be someone else in the future. I
am goino fo continue my work from
where 11eft it when my office term
expired on May 7. I wish happy days
[QI' the rest of the Turkish people." A
rather interesting comment o~ the
elections came from Güven Dmçer,
th~ deputy chairman. of the
Constitutional Court. Pnor to the
election he told journalist. that outside
powers were trying to control
the Constitutional Court. He la~er
clarified his statement, indicating
that by ou~iders he meant newspaper
~olumms~s... .
.' Dmçer sal~ that Ozden received
six votes, while he got four and the
.other' candidate, Selçuk Tüzün, only
one. ..
Özden lashed back at the cntlcs,
saying that no one could influence
thë court.and its decisions were taken
independently.When asked if S?in~
of the court members had received
telephQ.necalls telling them.whom to
elect, Ozden said not to believe such
rumors.
"Isupport Ata~rk's tenets, secularism
and human rights. I am a partial
person. when it com~~ to these
issues," said Ozden. Pohl1cal party
leaders sent congratulation messages
to Özden. Deputy Prime Minister.
Hikmet Çetin stated in his message
that he wasproud of the
Constitutional Court, which he
defined as the protector of the democratic
secular regime in T!lrlc~.
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP),
Chairnian Alparslan Türke~ al$,osent
a IIlessage wishing ~uccess t~ Ozden.
Ozden was born III 1932 m Tokat.
He graduated from the Ankara Law
Faculty in 1956. He was elected to
the Constitutional Court in 1979. He
becaine the deputy presiding judge in
1988 and presldingjudge in 1991. .
Rival Kurds take feuds to
airwaves illnorthern Iraq
Velde: We aren't a state so we can't
establish officialcontacts with other
international stations nor travel abroad
By Tolle Aram propagandaspouted by the rival tek vi-
Agence France Presse
sion stations.
SALAHUDDIN - The small hill The KDP and PUK are locked in a
town of Salahuddin in northern Iraq - year-long feud over power-sharing and
has become home to three different taxfevenues, which has cost more than .
television stations as rival Kurdish fac- 2,000 lives according .to Kurdish
lions take their bitter power struggle to sources and has carved up northern
the airwaves. Iraq into different zones. .'.
The Iraqi National Congress, a All thiS is reflected in the output of
coalition of groups opposed to the rival factions' TV channels..
Baghdad, and the Kurdista.n "We are so fed up with the propa-
Democratic Party (KDP) have theIr ganda yourec'eive on all stations.
own channels based in private villas in, Every tunethey start to talk about (l?lthe
former summer resort. Meanwhile itics we switch on our satellite," Said a
the KDP's rival, the Patriotic Union of . 25-year-old aid worker in the main
Kurdistan (PUK), broadcasts on its, town of Arbil.
own two stations from other areas of . Like all the northern Iraqi channels,
northern Iraq under its control. KTV relies on satellite chaJl{lelsfor its
Television bosses face a host of international news and does very few
problems trying to broadcast from ~e of its own reports. Besides its threeregion,
which came under Kurdish daily news bulletins, its airtime is
control in the aftermath of the 1991' filled with foreign science programmes
Gillf War 'but is not recognised as a and soap operas and Kurdish music ~~
separate slate. "We ar.en't a state so ~e 'd
can't establish offiCiaI contacts With V1 I~~~ained passive even in the face ~
other international stations nor travel of Turkey's massive six-week military ~
abroad," said Christopher Yelde, direc- incursion into northern Iraq to hunt ~
tor of the KDP's flfst channel, KTV. down PKK militants, launched on ' ~
"We have to make the best of these M h 20 ~
politicallimitations." Howev~r one ~f The KDP's second channel Gulan ~
the bigoest problems for the viewers IS tried to break the mould when it was ~
what they say _is ail endless stream of established in Arbil a year ago, and ~
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