Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
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REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-RIVISTA STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASIN ÖZET;<br />
...when the state ceases to exist in a region<br />
IInur Çevik<br />
EDITORIAL<br />
NEW YORK<br />
The clan<strong>de</strong>stine Kurdistan Workers<br />
Party (PKK)has successfully carried<br />
out its threat and effectively<br />
paralyzed not only the sales of<br />
Turkishnewspapersïn the troubled<br />
provincial capital of Diyarbakir in southeast<br />
Turkey but has also forced the closure<br />
of newspaper offices thus crippling<br />
the press.<br />
The New York Timeson Monday quoting<br />
a lawyer of Kurdish origin in Diyarbakir<br />
summed it up in the following quote:<br />
"The PKK'sstrength lies mostly in the fact<br />
that the state has ceased to be a state in<br />
the region. -<br />
We informed Presi<strong>de</strong>nt Süleyman<br />
Demirel about this situation on numerous<br />
times in the past y<strong>et</strong> we faced a stone<br />
wall in recent times. Gone is that great<br />
statesman who transformed this country<br />
from a semi-<strong>de</strong>mocracy to a country<br />
where its people are vocal and can at<br />
least speak up for their rights.<br />
We still believe that Demirel is the only<br />
person in this country with any kind of<br />
lea<strong>de</strong>rship quality to drag us out of the<br />
current mess. We have unfortunately<br />
closely observed Tansu Çiller's performance<br />
in the U.S.as a "lea<strong>de</strong>r' and a<br />
politician and we have to say neither the<br />
bright remarks for her at the White House<br />
nor her "charm' has convinced us that<br />
she has the ability or the <strong>de</strong>sire to take<br />
on the Kurdish issue realistically and with<br />
<strong>de</strong>termination. We realized during this trip<br />
that the pri[Tle minister had no i<strong>de</strong>a<br />
whatsoever of what was going on in<br />
southeastern Turkey while the journalists<br />
accompanying her were much b<strong>et</strong>ter<br />
informed on the <strong>de</strong>teriorating situation in<br />
Diyarbakir ...<br />
The PKKrecently roun<strong>de</strong>d up newspaper<br />
representatives in Diyarbakir in broad<br />
daylight and took them to a mountain<br />
hi<strong>de</strong>out where they were told to close<br />
down the offices of their newspaper in<br />
the region. On Tuesday many of them<br />
complied, an act which was con<strong>de</strong>mned<br />
by the government and other<br />
official circles. Besi<strong>de</strong>s all this, the PKK<br />
effectively halted the distribution of all<br />
Turkishnewspapers in the region and we<br />
are told now that soldiers are being used<br />
to partially distribute the papers.<br />
What does all this mean? It simply<br />
means the Turkishstate has gone bankrupt<br />
in the region as the New York Times<br />
suggested ...<br />
We have been warnIng against all this<br />
for over a year. We had come un<strong>de</strong>r fire<br />
from officiaI circles for our predIctions,<br />
which had forced us to say we were fed<br />
up of having to soy we have been .<br />
proven right so many times in the past<br />
-and that we just did not want to be right<br />
again on such an issue; But we were right<br />
again ...<br />
ff a state cannot provi<strong>de</strong> security for its<br />
journalists and cannot create the<br />
conditions for the free distribution of publications,<br />
and a terrorist organization<br />
plays havoc in a regIon of the country,<br />
Questions<br />
& Answers<br />
• Why and how did the PKK impose its<br />
press ba.n that went into effect on Tuesday?<br />
AccordIng to the organization, the ban is in reaction<br />
to biased reporting from the region and recent pressure<br />
place? on pro-Kurdish publications and journalists by<br />
secunty forces. The PKK says it no longer needs the<br />
pre,ss to carry its message, that the journalists should<br />
resIgn, and that newspapers should close their offices<br />
in the region.<br />
• How long will the ban last?<br />
The PKK has imposed the ban for an in<strong>de</strong>finite period,<br />
but local newspaper representatives believe it will<br />
last ~or onl~ about a month, until the organization comm~mca~es<br />
ItS message. PKK sources say that during<br />
thIS penod, there may be a softening of the ban, with<br />
the P,KK. making a distinction b<strong>et</strong>ween reporters and<br />
publIcatIOns. Currently, newspapers like Özgür<br />
Gün~em and the Kurd-Ha agency are allowed to<br />
remaIn open and work, because they are regar<strong>de</strong>d by<br />
the PKK as part of the "[Kurdish] national" press.<br />
• What was the status of press freedoms in<br />
southeast Turkey before the PKK ban?<br />
Jn ,the past 18 months, a total of 14 journalists<br />
reportIng on human rights and the Kurdish issue have<br />
been ki~led by uni<strong>de</strong>ntified assassins. Amnesty<br />
InternatIOnal and the local population believe that<br />
security forces were involved in the extra-judicial mur<strong>de</strong>r~.<br />
There was a, systemat!.c campaign launched<br />
agamst newsp'~pers such as Ozgür Gün<strong>de</strong>m and the<br />
weekly Yeni Ulke. Recently, five newspaper distributhen<br />
the only thing ieft is for the<br />
government (not just the interior minister)<br />
to resign and make way for a new<br />
government that can restore the<br />
credibility of the state in southeastern<br />
Turkey.<br />
The interior minister cannot complain<br />
about the press by saying that n~wspapers<br />
bowed to PKKthreats. We would<br />
oniy blame the Turkishpress for its unconditional<br />
support for a government that<br />
can not provi<strong>de</strong> security, even for their<br />
off/ces in Diyarbakir ...<br />
So the rough tactics of the authorities,<br />
and the so-called "military solution' ali<br />
seem to be going down the drain. Now is<br />
the time for Demirei to show iea<strong>de</strong>rship.<br />
He is our only hope.<br />
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