were the people having a certain level of income, and some of the results of the survey appeared to be suspicious, and expressed that the report, trying to cover up the political aspect of the problem, attempted to demonstrate the Kurdish problem as an economic one: “In the report, there are certain parts that can confront the official discourse. The acceptance of the ethnic structure is a criticism of the official ‘indivisible unity’ discourse. Though the state has disclosed a pre-determined calendar, stating a few times the exact dates and even months (5 times), it has so far failed in ending the armed conflict. This is a fact. Economically, the budget has been melting away. Seeds of enmity are being sown among the people The state cannot continue its policy of violence up to the end. These policies are in bottleneck. Deaths, village evacuations have become business as usual.”
Yavuz Önen expressed that the report might have raised a question: “Can the problem be out on the table?” He said, “It seems to be a civilian initiative. However, I don’t think that it is out of the control of the state. It is quite probable that it was filtered. Despite these, it should not be thought that the conclusions shall be acknowledged by the main powers of the state. It can be a pioneer in one sense to overcome the crisis. However, I think that the atmos-phere is unsuitable for the hearing and taking into consideration of the report. Another aspect of the report is that, it tries to cover up the responsibility of the state, as much as possible, regarding the ongoing incidents, from clashes, village evacuations, migration. Additionally, it tries to emphasize on the economic aspect. By doing so, it tries to direct the state towards socio- economic policies. This is the policy which has been implemented against the Kurdish problem since 1920s. The report presents a civilian approach against the continuing war. However, it is impossible to implement these initiatives appearing to be civilian on surface as long as the National Security Council is active.”
In the meantime, the Ankara SSC Prosecution Office launched an investigation re- garding the report. In connection with the investigation, Doğu Ergil testified to SSC Prosecu- tor Talat Şalk on 30 October. He was accused of “disseminating separatist propaganda.” In a statement he made after testifying, Doğu Ergil said, “I have intentionally shouldered the task of
Taha Akyol (Milliyet): Because of the deep rooted methodological mistakes, the majority of our Kurdish citizens are not represented in the report. It reflects the opinions of a group which is under the harshest conditions and thus have become most politicized.
Coşkun Kırca (Yeni Yüzyıl): The report is not scientific, and Mr. Yalım Erez (the then-TOBB
Chairperson) has become the victim of a propaganda plot against the indivisible unity of the state.
Emin Çölaşan (Hürriyet): Doğu Ergil is fond of money. Left aside his Southeast report, I wouldn’t
believe him even if he would say God is one.
Arslan Bulut (Akşam): If the report had been prepared at the Bekaa Valley, by using the PKK
militants as subjects, and the questions had been answered by the PKK militants, the results would have been more rational.
Oktay Ekşi (Hürriyet): The report has not been written to find a solution to the Southeast problem, but
to reflect the requests of a certain part of our Kurdish citizens with a scientific approach, and probably to give support to those blurting out their opinions without taking part in the problem. Thanks to those who have prepared the report.
Mehmet Altan (Sabah): A scientific report has simply shown the important difference between the
practice and the policies which should be implemented. Without taking into consideration the attacks against it, it is very much essential to congratulate the TOBB and Doğu Ergil, who prepared it.
İlnur Çevik (Turkish Daily News): The intellectuals, who have become lazy by thinking that the
military methods would solve everything, should now understand they should carry out whatever necessary that befall on them.
Derya Sazak (Milliyet): We regard the research important as it directs the public attention to the
preparing a scientific report on the Eastern problem which has disturbed the country throughout the history of the republic. The report subjected to investigation is a report on na-tional integration. No solution is put forward in the report, which should be read out and evaluated keeping in mind that it respects national integrity. The political authority should generate solutions in the light of the results driven from the study in hand and succeeding ones.” A decision of non-prosecution was delivered at the end of the investigation on the grounds that “there were no elements of a crime in the report.” The decision undersigned by Ankara SSC Prosecutor Talat Şalk read that the report did not exceed the limits of criticism and it was on the Eastern problem and ways of solution, and said, “The opinions in the report may be inadequate or may not be true. However, the report has been prepared in order to start a discussion within the public, and to provide the official bodies with material.”
The Parliament-in-exile
One of the important developments in 1995 was the activities of the Assembly estab- lished under the name “Kurdish Parliament-in-Exile.” (SKP). The SKP, established in the Netherlands (The Hague) on 12 April, held its second meeting in Vienna, Austria between 30 July and 1 August. Turkey had carried out diplomatic attempts in various European countries for the banning of the SKP, but failed to obtain any result. Yaşar Kaya was elected the Chair- person of the SKP.
In the General Assembly of the SKP, it was proposed to declare 21 March as a national day and holiday. After the speeches and discussions, the draft bill that proposed 21 March be declared as national holiday for all Kurds was enacted. Accordingly, the Newroz, which will be celebrated officially, shall start at 05.00 p.m. on 20 March. The Kurdish organi-zations and institutions in exile will also act within the framework of the bill. During the Gen-eral Assembly meeting, articles 2 and 8 of the Establishment Act were amended, and the win-ner of the competition launched to determine the SKP emblem was declared. The emblem of the SKP was accepted unanimously. In the General Assembly meeting, it was decided to start the studies to gather the “Kurdish National Congress” at the earliest convenience.
Hunger strike by PKK-member prisoners
In 1995, certain actions by PKK-member arrested or convicted prisoners were wit- nessed. The prisoners prosecuted in the PKK trials staged an indefinite/alternate hunger strike starting from 14 July. About 5,000 arrested and convicted prisoners in over 20 prisons participated in the hunger strike, which was staged on political demands. A statement made by the prisoners while staging the hunger strike said: “Dialogue call by PKK Chairperson Abdullah Öcalan for a political solution should be adopted as an initial step for solution, and supported. Geneva War Convention should be obeyed. Killing of civilians, disappearances in detention, extra-judicial executions, torture, village burnings should end. Prisoners should be granted the status of prisoners of war. Military operations should stop. Delegations from the United Nations and Red Cross should be sent to the region to watch the dirty war and to examine the situation in prisons.”
The hunger strike was turned into an indefinite/non-alternate one on 13 August (on the 31st day). The hunger strike by the PKK members ended on 19 August. A statement made after the ending of the hunger strike said: “The great hunger resistance has turned into mag- nificent spontaneous peace act thanks to the support staged by our patriotic people and friends in every field they occupy. It has affected the peoples of Turkey and the public opinion of the world, has arisen intensive interest and sensitivity, and reached its target.”
During the hunger strike, a convicted prisoner named Remzi Altıntaş lost his life in the Amasya Prison and convicted prisoner Fesih Beyazçiçek in the Yozgat E Type Prison. Remzi
Altıntaş was hospitalized on the morning of 11 August when his condition deterio-rated. Remzi Altıntaş, who was first taken to the Amasya State Hospital and diagnosed as having “lung cirrhosis,” was transferred to the Samsun Medical Faculty Hospital on 12 August. He was immediately taken under operation, but died during the operation. He was buried at the Diyarbakır Mardinkapı Cemetery with a funeral The police let nobody to par-ticipate the funeral, except for his family. Remzi Altıntaş, who had joined the PKK in January 1992 and who had been arrested in July in the same year, had been sentenced to 12 years 6 months in prison, and this sentence had been upheld by the Supreme Court.
Fesih Beyazçiçek, who was not treated for a while after his situation deteriorated in the Yozgat E Type Prison, died on 23 July while being transferred to Ankara. In a statement made by the prisoners, it was disclosed that they had applied to the prison administration nu-merous times for the treatment of Fesih Beyazçiçek when his condition had worsened. In the statement, it was noted that the prison administration had transferred Fesih Beyazçiçek to Ankara in order to avoid his death in the prison. Zülfünaz Beyazçiçek, the mother of Fesih Beyazçiçek, said that they had gone to Ankara in order to take over the body of her son, and continued, “The police invented problems when we wanted to take the body of my son. We were able to take the body after struggling for about 3 or 4 hours.”
Relatives of the prisoners staged hunger strikes, occupied political party buildings, ad held demonstrations and rallies in order to support the hunger strike staged at the prisons. The security officers intervened in most of these actions, people were forcibly ousted from political party buildings, some were beaten and some wounded. Hundreds of people were detained, some of the detainees were arrested. During the actions, Gülnaz Bağistani died in Germany (Berlin) and Latife Kaya (burnt herself) in Adana.
In İstanbul, alternate hunger strikes staged on 17 July at the HADEP Bağcılar District Center with the participation of 28 people, at the HADEP Bahçelievler District Center with 15 people and at the İHD İstanbul Branch with 20 people, continued under police siege. About 100 prisoner relatives from Adana, Antakya, Tarsus, Ceyhan, İskenderun and Osmaniye made a statement indicating that they supported the requests of the prisoners, and staged a hunger strike at the HADEP Seyhan District Center starting from 18 July.
A group of about 1,000 people, including relatives of the prisoners on hunger strike, gathered in front of the İstanbul Provincial Center of the United Socialist Party (BSP) in Tünel at noon on 24 July, and marched to the Galatasaray Post Office. Then, the relatives of the prisoners sent telegrams composed of a 7-item list, requesting an end to the continuing war in the Southeast and the pressure on Kurds, to the Presidency of the Parliament, United Nations Human Rights Council, European Human Rights Commission and Red Cross. The police did not intervene in the demonstration.
About 1,000 people, most of whom were the prisoner relatives, gathered in the Sultan- ahmet Square in İstanbul at noon on 30 July in order to hold a demonstration in support of the hunger strike. The people, who demonstrated for an hour by shouting various slogans, were prevented by the police when they attempted to march. The demonstrators argued with the police officers for some time, and started to disperse towards the Sultanahmet Park after the warning by İstanbul Security Vice Director Çetin Güven, who said, “If you disperse silently, we will maintain your security. Otherwise, we know how to disperse you.” The demonstrators were attacked by police officers short after, while they were dispersing. The police officers, who started to beat ruthlessly and chase after the demonstrators, regardless of young or old, detained 73 people. During the incident, a young man named Hasan Doğan was beaten and pushed over a wall by the police officers, and his leg was broken. Additionally, arms of a per- son named Nuri Yıldırım (16) were broken. Filiz Özçiçek, Erkan Dilek, Baki Akkan and İsmail
Akkan, who were wounded due to the beating, were hospitalized. 20 of the detainees, most of whom were minors, were released without being taken before the prosecutor, whereas the remaining 53 people by the İstanbul Public Prosecution Office on 2 August.
A pregnant woman named Hazal Deniz, who was among the demonstrators beaten by the police, stated that she had a miscarriage. Hazal Deniz said the following in the press con- ference held at the İHD İstanbul Branch on 31 July: “I was 2-month pregnant. We were dis- persing after the demonstration. Suddenly, police officers attacked us. Although I said that I was pregnant, they beat me for a long time, and dragged me on the ground. Subsequently, I had a hemorrhage and then a miscarriage.” İHD İstanbul Branch Chairperson Ercan Kanar stated that the İHD had sent observers to the Sultanahmet Square in order to watch the demonstration, and added, “The police mobilized all its forces in İstanbul against a peaceful demonstration. Despite the agreement between the security authorities and the crowd, the police officer attacked the people while they were dispersing.” Kemal Parlak, the HADEP İstanbul Provincial Chairperson, said, “We refer the İstanbul police chief, who preserves a revolting attitude even against the political power that had assigned him, to the people in İstanbul and Turkey. Because I cannot find any competent authority, other than the people, to complain about him. During the attack, the police had opened fire on the back streets. The police officers carried the MHP emblem on their guns and belts. And this shows out that the MHP and the security department are in collaboration.”
Ninety-five prisoner relatives, who staged a hunger strike in the HADEP Diyarbakır Bağlar District Center, were detained by police officers who raided the center on 4 August. Of the detainees, Hatice Tanrıkulu and Ferhat Karataş, who were in a distressing condition, were hospitalized, and 5 elderly women were released within a short time. Ferhat Karataş, who was hospitalized, was taken to the Security Directorate following the medical intervention. Except Hanifi Akboğa, Veysi Çağır and Nuri Çelik, 87 of the detainees were released on 6 August.
Thirty-four prisoner relatives occupied the İstanbul Provincial Center of the RP on 6 August, and went on a hunger strike. Upon this incident, the Provincial Center of the RP was blockaded by the police, and those who wanted to enter the building were not allowed. Addi- tionally, lawyers Selim Okçuoğlu, Talat Tepe, Bedia Burhan and Naciye Kaplan, who wanted to enter the building in order to see the prisoner relatives, were not allowed. Police officers entered the building at about 05.00 a.m. on 9 August, reportedly upon requests by the RP executives, and detained the prisoner relatives, 4 of whom were children. The detainees were released by the Zeytinburnu Public Prosecution Office at the evening on 9 August. İHD İstanbul Branch Chairperson Ercan Kanar, who reproached the RP executives’ application to the police, said, “This attitude does not befit a party which is an organization of a civil society. The RP has proven to be militarist.”
A rally, which was held in Adana by about 500 people, including prisoner relatives on hunger strike at the Adana Provincial Center of the HADEP in support of the hunger strikes in the prisons, was forcibly prevented by the police. The crowd that gathered in front of the HADEP Provincial Center at about 01.00 p.m. on 11 August, stated that they would sent a telegram to President Süleyman Demirel and started to march towards the PTT office. The police waylaid the crowd within a short time. When the crowd insisted on marching, police officers beat the demonstrators with truncheons and planks, and dispersed them. Some of those dispersed returned to the HADEP’s Provincial Center, while a group of 25-30 demon-strators sat on the E-5 Highway and blockaded the traffic. During the incidents, nearly 100 people were detained and 22 people were injured because of truncheon and plank blows. The names of those injured were as follows: “Sabriye Aslan, Emine Erdemir (60), Hülya Şener, Gurbet Algül (18), Cahide Mutlu (24), Sema Aktaş (15), Şahiye Arzak (28), Sultan Dağ (57), Safiye Dalgıç
(28), Cahide Mutlu, Nahide Ekin (33), Fatma Budak (27), Medine Özkılıç (35), Emine Orhan (30), Ahmet Bayar (10), Arzu Hatun, Adalet Lale (70), Menice Akbulut, Rabia Özdemir (50), Hediye İnanç, Zehra Erdem (60) and Makbule Ayan (30).”
Zehra Erdem, one of the wounded, said the following: “When the police prevented us, we all sat on the ground. They hit me with truncheons. I fell on the ground. They were hitting at my shoulder and hip. I was on an alternate hunger strike since 5 days, and my stomach was empty. I fainted after the blows to my stomach. I opened my eyes at the hospital. There, physi- cians did not treat me. Upon this, I was taken to a physician at a private clinic. The physician told me that my ribs were bruised. There are injuries and bruises all over my body. I am not able to get out of the bed.” Of the people detained during the rally, 9 were arrested and the remaining were released. The names of the arrested ones were as follows: “Saime Fırat, Halil Kuddusi Şahin, Nuray Sandallı, Mehmet Doğan, Deniz Söylemez, İlkbal Baysal, Yunus Özgür, Hülya Günay and Zeynep Akıncı.”
Thirty-five people, who were staging a hunger strike in the New Democracy Move- ment (YDH) İzmir Provincial Center, were forcibly ousted and detained by the police on 13 August. Of the 35 people, including 32 prisoner relatives, 34 were released while Emrullah Çelik was arrested on charges of resisting the police. Meanwhile, it was learnt that İHD İzmir Branch Chairperson Ahmet Turan Demir, who was in the YDH Provincial Center during the police raid, was also kept in detention for some time. Emine Can, a reporter for the journal Odak, was detained while the relatives of the prisoners were being taken out of the building. She disclosed after being released that she had been tortured at the İzmir Political Police Cen- ter where she had been taken to.
Eight foreigners, 7 of whom are Germans and the remaining one is Swiss, who came to Turkey in order to watch the developments concerning the hunger strikes by the PKK-member prisoners, were detained by the police in Diyarbakır. The 8 foreigners, 4 of whom were