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

REVUE DE PRESSE~PRESS REVIEW~BERHEVOKAÇAPÊ~RwISTA STAMPA~DENTRO DE LA PRENSA~BASIN ÖZETi
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was the only TV station i~ the.region
to broadcast interviews With different
factions. "But since the PUK conquered
Arbil and we had t~ ~ee to
Salahuddin, we have been hrruted to
KDP-controlled areas and we have to
concentrate more on party-relate~
issues - whether we want to or not,
said Gulan director Sero Kader,
The PUK is proving more.successful
in entertaining its viewers Withthe s~ond
of its two channels, based In
Suleymaniya 2~0 kilometres (136
miles) east of Arbil.
"We realized that people were fed
up with all that party-related propaganda
so we designed a second c~anne,~
for entertainment and youns people,
said Abbas Abdul Raza, dIrector of
PUK television.
"Five hours a day we produce our
own programmes for health, women
and childfen," he said proudly.
Despite his efforts, on~ of the
biggest hits in northern IraQ ~s a new
satellite channel beamed In from
Europe by the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK). Not every~y
can afford it but those who can enJoy
four hours a day of ?riginal. programmes
including dancmg, muSICand
'cultural shows.
Congress refuses to link
US arms to human rights
State Department opposes arms limits on Turkey
By Ugur Abnci
Turkish Daily News
W ASHINGTON- During a second day
of debates on the U.S. House floor on HR
1561, the American Overseas Interest Act,
the house members ,rejected by 262-1 ~7
votes an amendment mtroduced by Cynthia
McKinney (D) of GeorNia that would deny
U.S. arms exports to dictators, military
aggressors, human rights abusers, or nonparticipants
in the UN Register of
Conventional Arms." Since Turkey is frequently
criticized by human rights group~,
some observers were concerned that, if
accepted, the amendment could jeopardize
U.S. arms transfers to Turkey.
The McKinney amendment had many
supporters, incl.uding Joseph Kennedy (D-
MA), Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Carrie Meek
(D-FL), George Miller (D-CA), Lynn
Woolsey (D-CA), Alcee Hasttngs (D-FL).
Dan Burton (R-IN) was one determined
voice who opposed the amendment arguing
that the president already had the option to
deny any arm sales he wants to any country
he chooses, just as he refused to deliver F-
16s to Pakistan even though Pakistan had
already paid for the planes. John Mica (D-
FL) and Matt Salmon (R-AZ) were among
others who spoke out against the amendment.
Rep. Waters on Turkey
The only member of Congress who
dwelled on Turkey's human rights record
within the context of the amendment was
Maxine Waters (D) of California. Ms.
Waters referred to Lawrence Korb's testimony
at a Senate subcommittee on
Tuesday. Korb, an assistant secretary of
defense during the Reagan administration
and now a scholar at the Brookings
Institute, said that Turkey's use of F-16s,
Black Hawk helicopters and M-6Os against
''the Kurds" indicated that "many US arms
transferred overseas are used not against the
foreign enemies of the US, but against the
indigenous population."
"We only need to look at the recent past
to find examples of good intentions gone
bad," she saiâ. "Many people have talked
about the recent gross liuman rights violations
in Turkey. Turkey haflpens to be one
of largest recipientsof U.S.' military aid.
Former Assistant Secretary Lawrence Korb
testified yesterday that Turkey's rulers have
used U,S.-supplied F-16s, Black Hawk helicopters
and M-60 tanks against its own
Kurdish population," she said.
The U.S. arms exports should go to countries
that hold "free and fair elections,"
Waters added. The arms should not go to
countries that "en!zagein gross violations of
human rights. Wé shoulâ also make sure
that U.S. arms should not go to countries
that do not engage in illegal acts of armed
aggression." Thus the McKinney amendment
would provide "a moral test to U.S.
foreign policy," she said. ,
The House will reconvene to debate other
amendments, including one submitted by
Rep. Bob Andrews (D-N]) which proposes
to withhold $500,000 from U.S. assistance
for each day Turkey refuses to mak~ any
progressona number of human nghts
issues concerning Cyprus and the Orthooox
Greek Patriarchate.
The deliberations on HR 1561, sometimes
also mistakenly referred to as the
"Foreign Aid Bill," were scheduled to end
at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday after a total of 10
hours of discussion on the new amendments
proposed.
State Department responds
The U.S. State Department has registered
its strong oppositIon to the McKinney
amendment to link arms sales to human
rights. "Our po,sition is that we bave very
strong relations with Turkey, that Turkey IS
a strategic ally, that we see no reason to
change the fundamental nature of our relationship
with Turkey as a result of any,
actions in the past couple of months; ,
spokesman Nick Burns saia.
"Turkey has withdrawn its forces from
northern Iraq. We were delighted to see
that. We stanii ready to work with Turkey
on a host of problems that confront both
Turkey and tlie United States in southeast
Europe. Turkey is a valued ally. We don't
support any move to decrease U.S. military
or economic or political cooperation with
Turkey," Burns concluded.
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