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

REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-RNISTA STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASIN ÖZETÏ
the remaining fine of 23,000 OM in
two installments.
Sources said, meanwhile, that a
number of provincial executives of political
partIes had ,travelled ~o Ank~ra
in recent days to dIscuss ~heIssue WIth
their leaders. MeanwhIle, Defense
Minister Nevzat Ayaz on Monday
promised again to end terrorism in the
country "by the year's end, or failing
that, at the start of 1994."
Saying that no "special anny" had
been set up as reported in the national
press, Ayaz said they had no plan for
such an anny. He added, however, that
Turkish security forces were being
reinforced by professional personnel
recruited among fonner commando
soldiers.
"In line with new NATO strategies,
a reorganization and restructuring of
the Turkish standing anny through the
creation of professional cadres has
been decided on. Suc~ personnel will
work in concord with the existing anny
staff, No such thing as a special anny
is envisioned," Ayaz told reporters during
his visil to Konya Governor Atila
Vural.
He disclosed that 24,000 people,
20,000 of them for the Land Forces
Command, had already been recruited
for the said cadres.
"The nllmber will increase up to
60,000 to 70,000 in the future," Ayaz
said.
The Defense Minister told reporters
that his government had taken every
possible measure to prevent the incidence
of terrorism,
He added that Turkey had managed
to talk foreign counlries inlo considering
the outlawed Kurdistan Workers'
~arty (PKK) as a lerrorist organizalIOn.
.
Referring to forces of Operation Provide
Comfort deployed In Southeast
Turkey,Ayaz said they would stay in
the region until the situation in northern
Iraq was restored 10 nonnal, adding
that Operalion Provide Comfort was
conducled under Ihe supervision of
Turkish commanders.
Ayaz added that his government
would ensure that the local elections of
1994 would be held under nonnal circumstances
in the Southeast.
Turkey strikes PKK in
.Iraqi Kurds claim 9 civilians killed northern
• 40 dead in new round of violence
Turkish Daily News
ANKARA. Turkish warplanes and artillery hil Kurdish
largets in northern Iraq over the weekend in this year's firsl
cross-border oJX:rationinto that country which allegedly left
behind nine CIViliandead and three wounded. Sources reported
fresh bombings on Monday but the infonnalion could
not be confinned. The operations coincided with two separate
incidents in which 31 Kurdish civilians were kill~,
A senior military officer, referring to the wee,kend stnke,
said, "our forces have conducted necessary stnkes on two
areas where the bandits had settled," but refused to elaborate.
A representative for the Iraqi ~urd~ said n,ine peo~le,
including ?ne woman, had been kIlled ~nTurkIsh shelling
and air stnkes of Nerwa and Sanatt, saId to be around 12
miles inside the border,
Sources around the border region told the Turkish Daily
News on Monday that they could hear bombing on the other
side of the border as of the early hours of the morning. local
journalists in DiyarbakIr said the warplanes took off
from that city as well as Malatya's Erhaç airport.
One source said there was a buildup of annoured vehicles
near Ihe çall~kan village of Silopi, immediatelyon the border.
It was not clear whether a land operation would be launched.
Safeen Dizayee, the Ankara representative of the
(Iraqi) Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said on Monday
that contact had been made with Turkish officials and an
explanation was expected for the weekend attack.
Anka:a argues that the "targets" of the initial operation
were camps used by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK) that has been waging a violent anned campaign for
self-rule for Turkish Kurds since 1984. More than 7,300 people
have died in the contlict in the past nine years.
"We accept that the PKK has :;mall mobile groups ofg_uerrillas
that have moved back into the area," Dizayeesaid.
He added; however, that "there are certainly no established
PKK camps in the area under our control."
A senior military source, asking not to be identified, said
Turkey had warned the Iraqi Kurds several times against
harboring PKK militants and had warned that if they failed
to clear the border, Turkish forces would react.
During the summer, Ankara sent a secret memorandum to
Iraqi Kurdish leaders Jalal Talabani and Masoud Barzani,
pointing out that the PKK was returning to the border region
and creating "pockets" for use in cross-border attacks in
Turkish territory. The Iraqi-Kurds have been tense over the
pasttwo months, fearing this would be the pretext for new
Turkish strikes. Last October, Turkeyentered northern Iraq
to battle the PKK there and announced terrorist casualties as
high as 4,500. Iraqi Kurds said the number of PKK militants
Iraq
killed throu~hout the vast operation
I t 200 M '1' commg days.
was ower an . ost ml Itants Last week, PKK leader Abdullah
surrendered and were allowed to move
to the Kurdish-controlled Zele Ö calan claimed his forces would ref
f . h b ach a record 35,000 by next spring
camp ar rom the Turkls order, and vowed an increase in attacks on
from where they reportedly crossed Turkish tarijts as well as Western in-
Into Iran and returned to Turkey.
Ankara has refused the PKK's calls vestments. e claimed this was in refor
autonomy talks, ignored a two- taliation for Turkish operations in the
month bilateral cease tire that ended troubled region,
in May and launched a major offensi- On Monday, the Anatolia news
ve in the region this July.
agency reported that26 civilians were
MT 'd h killed when a mini bus carrying them
I ltary sources saI , owever, that hit a land mine in Mardin province.
the main crackdown was being launc- Officials said the villagers were trahed
this month and would targel the II' h
destruction of this organizatIOn by ve Ing from one village to anot er
when the blast occurred. Five more
next March, Officials put rebel casu- civilians were killed in the Mutki distalties
for this year at nearly 2,000. rict of Bitlis province when their mi-
Chief of General Staff Gen. Dogan
Gürekrecently vowed to "finish off nibus came under fire from PKK milithe
P K by next spring." He warned ti!h~ agency also reported that an of.
that if this campaIgn failed, Ankara ticer and four soldiers were wounded
could be forced to Implement martial in the BingoI province when on Sunlaw
throughout the troubled region. A
special force of about 10,000 well-tra- day night a group of PKK militants
ined counter-guerilla warfare experts attacked the Yeni'yazl gendarmerie
are to be deployed to the region this station. The orgamzation has upgrayear
under a decision made by the ru- ded its attacks on military and police
ling coalition government. In the. targets since 1990 and frequently ambushes
patrols. At the end of last
words of Prinië Ministerîânsu Çiller; month, PKK militants attacked a vil-
"These people will act like the terrorists,
live like them on the mountains lagé in Batman where they shot seven
and will fight them." An additional people including two pregnant woforce
of abOut50,000 troops have also men, an infant and a toddler. During
been deployed to eastern and southe- the weekend, another group of miliastern
Turkey.
tants burned nine villagers to death af-
Observers in Ankara believe the ter surrounding and attacking their
PKK and Turkish forces will lock house. Officials say these attacks aim
horns before the winter sets in, and at spreading fear. in the region and
forCIng the focal people to collaborate
there will be much bloodshed in the with tlie terrorists.
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