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

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basm ()zeti
coàlition with Mrs. Ciller that fell apart
last spring after he indicated he would
l'lupport an investigation of the charges
tagainst her.
~lI!\iamentary investigators, leading
pohtlcal figures, and Turkish. newspapers
have been examining how Mrs.
Ciller and her husband, Ozer Ciller
became multimillionaires. They hav~
raised questions about her statement
~hat she inherited more than $1 million
10 cash and gold from her mother, a
,wom~ whose former neighbors have
descnbed as a penniless pensioner.
~s. Ciller's critics have also examIned.
the 'purchase of $1.5 million in
prope!1les In New Hampshire by an
Amencan company headed by her husband.
They assert that Mr. and Mrs
Çi~ler enriched themselves through il~
hClt use of government funds in her
years as prime minister from 1993 to
1996.
Some opposition figures have even
suggested that Mrs. Ciller once held
American citizenship, which if true
could complicate her .political position
here. They have sued In fedetal court in
New York to obtain her. passport records.
~s. c;iller has denied any wrongdOIng.
Tim Platt, her New Hampshire
lawye!, said she has never held an
~me~c.an passport or been an Amer-
Ican CitIzen. Mr. Platt also said that her
investments in the United States comply
fully with American law.
Some aspects of Mrs. Ciller's rise to
the status of a multimillionaire
however, remain unclear. She has said:
for example, that some of her wealth
stems from wise investment of the $1.1
million inheritance from her mother
who died in 1995.
'
But neighbors of Muazzez Ciller
said last week that she had lived near
poverty in a shabby Istanbul apartment,
and doubted that she could have
left such a substantial sum.
.Questions about the finances of Mrs.
Ciller were of little interest outside
Turkey until June, when she astonishe~
!ßany w~r~dleaders by agreeing to join
In a coahtlOn government with the Islamic-oriented
Welfare Party. Until
then, she had bitterly attacked Welfare
calling it a fundamentalist threat and
vowing never to cooperate with it.
Under the coalition agreement, the
Welfare Party leader, Necmettin:
Erbakll!l' became prime minister and
~s. Ciller became deputy prime min-
Ister and foreign minister.
After the alliance was sealed, Mr;
Erbakan 's supporters in Parliament
helped Mrs. Ciller defeat a series of
proposals, some of which they themselves
had filed while in opposition, that
would have referred questions about her
we.althto the Supreme Court.
Th;~ h"':led critics tO.ass.ert that a
~
deal has been struck under which Mrs.
Ciller keeps the Welfare Party in
po~er a~d,.i~ e~change, it protects her
agaInst judlclalmvestigation.
Charges of corruption and abuse of
power began to swirl around Mrs. Ciller
as she ended her term as prime minister.
In recent months, the charges have bec?me
a .major topic of public discussIOn.This
year, Mrs. Ciller has faced a
series of parliamentary votes on charges
that she i\1icitly diverted funds from
~vera~ government-owned companies,
Includmg an electric utility, an auto
manufacturer. and a hotel chain.
Mrs. Ciller agreed to an interview in
February to discu~s the charges against
her, but canceled It moments after Parliament
voted, 270-263, not to send
charges against her to the Supreme
Court. Afterward, her office provided a
statement that said:
"The parliamentary commission
conduc!ed :m extensive inquiry into
~rs. Ciller s finances, releasing pubhc1y
numerous confidential tax returns
and financial documents. which she'
provided voluntarily. The commission
Issued a report of over 300 pages and
c1e~ed her of any improprieties. The
Parhament has confirmed that finding
and the matter is now closed." .
Under Turkish law, Parliament cannot
reopen any investigation within
one year after it has been closed.
/::=1 ======'J(( Tiny Island a Haven for
Some Kurds
By ERIC TALMADGE
Associated Press Writer
Monday, April 7, 19973:10 am EDT
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AP) -- Jamil
Khalil Samin sat outside a sun-bleached concrete
building that until recently housed U.S. military
officers. He smiled at a group of Kurdish children
playing in the street.
.\.
Before coming to Guam from Iraq, he saw a lot of
suffering, Samin said. He tried to do something about
it, using his skills as a civil engineer to rebuild what
Saddam Hussein's forces ruined.
That, h~wever, put him in a delicate political position.
By helpmg strengthen the Kurds, Samin also was
helping the United States weaken Saddam's hold in
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