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

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basm Özeti
try in a bungled attempt to end a two-month
hunger strike by left-wing prisoners who
had beeil more or less running their dormi-
. tories anâ were proteSting agäinst ii-plarùo.
transfer them to smaller, more controllable
cells.Television pictures of scorched prisoners
who had set themselves ablaze did Turkey's
caseno good at all in Europe.
Yet Mr Ecevit's government still has a
chance to put things right when it releases its
National Programme for EU membership at
the end of this month. Described by a senior
official as the country's most important project
since Ataturk's revolutionary reforms of
the 1920Sand 1930S,the document will set
out in detaIl what Turkey isprepared todo to
meet the EU'S criteria for the opening of
membership talks. The problem is that Mr
Bahcèli'sNationalist Action Party-no doubt
encouraged by some of the generals-is said
to be resisting any acknowledgment of
Kurdish culturalrights, and any diminution
of the political influence of the army.
For the first time, though, Mr Ecevit is
fighting back. The day before Mr Yilmaz's
protest against those seeking to "push the
country towards a military regime", the
prime minister produced his first-ever criticism
of military meddling in politics. An unnamed
general had been quoted in a masscirculation
newspaper, Hurriyet, as saying
that the armed forces, not the government,
were the driving forcebehind the corruption
probe in the energy ministry. "Such talk violatesthe
supremacy oflaw~i,Mi Ecevii-ihuii~
dered. "We shall investigate the matter. and
find out who these people are."
Are Turkey's politicians at last nerving
themselves to stand up to the generals? If
they are, they will have to match their words
with deeds. One desirable deed would be to
amend the penal code in ways that would
enable Turksfreelyto debate such thorny issues
as Kurdish rights and political Islam
without finding themselves behind bars, as
many politicians,journalists and academics
have done. They can also prevent the closure.
of Turkey's largest pro-Islam party, Virtue,
and ofits largest legalKurdish party, Hadep,
which both face bans on thinly supported
charges of "anti-state" activity. Encouragingly,the
president has refused toextend the
term of Turkey's-fiercely anti-Islamic chief
prosecutor, Vural Savas, and parliament
may soon pass a measure, opposed by the
generals, that would make the banning of
political parties much more difficult.
As one observer of the country's politics,
Cetin Altan, has put it: "lhe Turks have
missed the 20th century. Let us not miss the
chance of catching up with the world in the
21St."Fewsensible Turkswould disagree.
Bagdad accuse le PDK et l'UPK d'être soumis aux
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pressions US et britanniques
NP.::::
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BAGDAD, 17 jan (AFP) - 20h46- Le vice-Premier ministre irakien Tarak Aziz a accusé mercredi les deux factions kurdes rivales, qui
contrôlent le nord de l'Irak, d'êtres soumises aux pressions américano-britanniques, qui entravent tout accord avec Bagdad.
"Nous poursuivons le dialogue avec les deux factions kurdes dans le nord (de l'Irak), mais leur problème principal c'est qu'elles sont
soumises aùx ingérences et pressions américaines et britanniques ainsi que celles en provenance de la Turquie et de l'Iran", a déclaré
M. Aziz, dans une intervention à la télévision d'Etat.
"Ils (Massoud Barzani, chef du Parti démocratique du Kurdistan, PDK, et Jalal Talabani, chef de l'Union patriotique du Kurdistan,
UPK) sont soumis à ces influences (américano-britanniques) et n'ont pas le courage de venir à Bagdad pour aboutir à un accord
équilibré", a ajouté le responsable irakien.
Il a affirmé qu'en 1991, Bagdad et les deux factions avaient abouti à un accord pour régler le problème kurde d'une manière pacifique
et démocratique, mais celui-ci n'a jamais été signé par le PDK et l'UPK "en raison de l'ingérence des Etats-Unis".
"Le dialogue fructueux entamé en 1991 n'a pas abouti et ils en assument eux-même la responsabilité et non la direction irakienne", a
poursuivi M. Aziz.
Mardi, le sous secrétaire au ministère irakien des Affaires étrangères Nizar Hamdoun avait affirmé que "le dialogue entre la
direction irakienne et les principaux partis kurdes dans le nord du pays n'a jamais été rompu, malgré nos réserves à l'égard d'une
grande partie de leur politique et de leurs positions". .
Le PDK et l'UPK se disputent le contrôle du nord de l'Irak, qui échappe totalement à Bagdad depuis la fin de la guerre du Golfe en
1991.
Le Kurdistan irakien s'était soulevé contre le régime au pouvoir à Bagdad dans la foulée de sa défaite dans la guerre du Golfe en
1991.
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