>Resent-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >_______________________________ > >ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN >News * Analysis * Research * Action >_______________________________ > >SPECIAL EDITION >- February 17, 2000 - > >* * * >______________________________________________________________________________ > >TURKEY: `CONTRA-GUERRILLA STATE' >______________________________________________________________________________ > >CONTENTS >------- > >1. WORLD SOCIALIST WEB SITE [UK]: Government Crackdown Against the >Hezbollah in Turkey. >2. THE NEW YORK TIMES: Turkey Accused of Arming Terrorist Group. >3. FRANKFURTER RUNDSCHAU [Germany]: Former Turkish Prime Minister May Have >Helped to Arm Terrorists. > >* * * > >AFIB Editor's Introduction: Turkey's horrendous human rights record, >directly proportional to the vast amount of military "aid" provided by >Washington, is once again the focus for international protests. Last week >hundreds of human rights activists were beaten and arrested in Istanbul for >the "crime" of holding an "illegal demonstration" against state crimes, >which include the systematic use of torture, "disappearances" and so-called >"mystery killings". With the latest "national security" scandal engulfing >the Turkish coalition government over allegations that the military's >powerful National Security Council (MGK) along with a former Prime Minister >and ranking members of her cabinet, armed the clerical-fascist Hezbollah >death squad, there is scant mention of the U.S. role in this long-standing >war. While the European Union and the United States shed crocodile tears >over the entrance of Joerg Haider's far-right Freedom Party (FPO) into the >Austrian government, there is icy silence from Brussels and Washington when >Turkey's neofascist National Action Party (MHP), a partner in the current >government is mentioned. And with good reason since the crimes of the >Ankara regime intersect U.S. geopolitical strategy for the region. No >ordinary "nationalist" party, the MHP and its paramilitary wing, the Gray >Wolves (favorites among CIA and NATO military "specialists") brutally >tortured and murdered thousands of leftists in the run up to the 1980 coup >and were key players in the repression of Kurdistan's insurgency. > >For further background on the fascist roots of the MHP and Turkey's >counterinsurgency state see: Press Agency Ozgurluk, In solidarity with the >People's Liberation struggle in Turkey and Kurdistan; E-mail: >[EMAIL PROTECTED]; Web: http://www.ozgurluk.org. Ertugrul Kurkcu, "Turkey: >Trapped in a Web of Covert Killers, Covert Action Quarterly, Washington, >D.C., Summer 1997, Number 61. > >* * * > >WORLD SOCIALIST WEB SITE >Published by the International Committee >of the Fourth International (ICFI) >Web: http://www.wsws.org/ >E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >- Wednesday, 16 February 2000 - > >----- >____________________________________________________________________ > >GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN AGAINST THE HEZBOLLAH IN TURKEY >____________________________________________________________________ > >By Justus Leicht >http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/feb2000/hezb-f16.shtml > >For weeks state security forces in Turkey have been carrying out an >extensive operation against the Islamic terror organisation Hezbollah >(Arabic for the "Party of God"). The group does not have a mass base in >Turkey and reportedly has no ties to the one operating in Lebanon and other >Middle Eastern countries under the same name. > >Up to now 900 persons are said to have been arrested and interrogated and >numerous houses have been searched. In the course of the raids police have >confiscated thousands of documents, as well as innumerable computer discs, >weapons, money and credit cards. > >The corpses of several dozen persons have been found. The bodies are of >victims who were kidnapped, tortured and then killed by the group. The >Hezbollah made many video films of their victims as they were being >tortured to death. > >Amongst those apprehended is the majority of the organisation's leadership. >At the beginning of the operation, the group's head and founder, Hüseyin >Velioglu, was shot by police snipers during a raid on a villa. > >At the same time the state has undertaken action against another Islamic >organisation, the IBDA-C (Turkish for "Islamic Great East Raiders Front"). >On January 25 security forces stormed the prison wings where IBDA-C members >are being held. These prisoners had, as a result of a number of prison >revolts, achieved most of their demands and established de facto control of >their own prison wings. The security forces brutally broke the prisoners' >resistance and proceeded to distribute members of the group to various >other prisons, confining them to smaller cells. > >Although the Turkish state has carried out individual actions against the >Islamists over the past three years, the latter were able to operate >virtually without hindrance throughout the 1990s. The Turkish army, police >and secret police worked closely with Hezbollah as well as right-wing death >squads and Mafia terror groups. The result is over 3,000 "unsolved >(political) murders". This state of affairs has been an open secret for >some time in Turkey and is now being more or less openly admitted by the >media and many well-known politicians. > >Right-wing militias have been especially active in the predominately >Kurdish south-east of Turkey, terrorising the population and killing mainly >Kurdish nationalists and intellectuals, as well as human rights activists, >critical journalists, left-wingers and trade unionists. > >A series of articles in the pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgur Politika referred >to numerous sources which confirmed that it was not a question of "an >individual traitor in the state apparatus" closing his eyes to what was >going on, but rather the state as a whole systematically supporting and >sponsoring the Hezbollah as part of the so-called "counter-guerrilla" >forces. The population in south-eastern Turkey used to call Hezbollah >"Hizb-i Contra" ("Party of the Contra"). > >In February 1991 the magazine 2000'e Dogru published a report based on the >testimony of witnesses and sympathisers of Hezbollah which stipulated that >the organisation had been trained at the headquarters of the local mobile >state task force in the town of Diyarbakir. Two days after the publication >of the report, its author was murdered. > >In an interview with the Turkish Daily News the lawyer Mustafa Yilmaz, who >in 1993 was a Social Democratic member of the inquiry into unsolved >murders, declared that the Hezbollah occupied training camps alongside >quarters of the Turkish special police in a number of south-eastern Turkish >towns. In response to the report, a few security officials who were willing >to give a statement were sacked. The claims were never properly followed up >or brought to the attention of parliament by any of the parties. > >Over the past weeks there have been continued reports in Turkish papers >about connections between the Hezbollah, right-wing Mafia circles and >organs of the state. The papers have expressed the conjecture that >Hezbollah leader Velioglu was shot because he knew too much. > >On January 25 the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet quoted President Suleyman >Demirel, who contested allegations of collaboration between state forces >and the right-wing groups, but in the same breath indirectly and cynically >confirmed such collaboration: "Hezbollah is a derivative of the PKK >(Kurdistan Workers' Party). It began life with the aim of having people >defend themselves from the PKK. But [later] it became a terrorist, >separatist and 'religionist' organization." > >It does appear that in recent years the Hezbollah has increased its >independence and has also kidnapped and murdered Islamic businessmen from >the Kurdish south-east loyal to the Turkish state. This is why Hezbollah >has now become a threat to the stability of the Turkish state, something >which the European Union (EU) and the United States are insisting must be >maintained, under the euphemism "democratisation". > >Turkey is regarded as a decisive Western bridgehead to the countries of the >Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia. The country is being >transformed into a fortress bristling with weapons from which Western >powers will be able assert their demands in the region. > >Turkey cannot seriously fulfil the role of regional power and a bastion for >NATO if it is continually being rocked by domestic conflicts between the >Kemalists, the Islamists and Kurdish nationalists. This is why the EU and >the US are putting pressure on the Turkish government to end these >conflicts in the name of "democratisation". > >The PKK no longer poses an obstacle to such a development -- quite the >opposite. In a statement published in the Özgur Politika on January 16 the >central committee of the PKK declared: "The internal and external forces >which are trying to prevent Turkey from going forward need to be stopped. >Then it will be seen that everybody is proud to be part of Turkey and >Turkey is a strong country in the region and the world.... Turkish leaders >with common sense, democratic forces and nationalists can be sure that our >party will not tolerate any force weakening Turkey or harming its >interests. The Kurdish people will help to build a democratic republic like >they did during Turkey's liberation struggle. Our party and people will >co-operate with the democratic forces of Turkey." (Kurdistan Observer, >January 17). > >Following the neutralisation of the PKK, the state is levelling its blows >at the Hezbollah. The Islamic terror group is, however, only the most >extreme excrescence of the web of Mafia and death squads, which has >penetrated so deeply into the state and economic structures of Turkey that >it is referred to as the "deep state". > >The present action against the Hezbollah does not change these structures, >but rather serves to secure and stabilise them. One arm of the structure >which is proving more harmful than beneficial is being severed. This will >not resolve the deeper lying conflicts inside the establishment. > >The export-orientated, neo-liberal economic policy introduced first by >Turgut Özal following the military putsch of 1980 and continued since then >has produced a new layer of unscrupulous social climbers and newly wealthy >employers, mainly from the east of the country. These now find themselves >in conflict with the old Kemalist establishment and the "deep state" over >rich pickings to be had in the country. > >Accordingly, the Turkish army has reacted in hysterical fashion to charges >by the Islamic Virtue Party (FP -- the largest oppositional party in >parliament) that the military had tolerated the Hezbollah. The army general >staff issued a statement levelling abuse at the FP, which had also called >for the establishment a parliamentary committee of investigation. > >The general staff virtually demanded a ban of the party, which is currently >subject to an official procedure with the same aim. The procedure is >entering its final stages. > >There have also been reports of sharp disputes within the ruling elite >about what to do once Hezbollah, the Frankenstein monster of the state, is >eliminated. Sections of the military, in particular, are said to be >pressing behind the scenes for a wholesale campaign of oppression against >all independent manifestations of Islamic tendencies, no matter how >moderate or conservative they may be. > >Following sharp warnings from Washington and Europe, all sides are now >concerned to de-escalate the conflict. Leading representatives of the FP >emphasise that they would never harm the image of the army or seek to >question Kemalism or the state order. The military has refrained from >further statements and Vural Savas, the highest state prosecutor who enjoys >the closest relations with the army, has made assurances he will not use >the dispute as ammunition in the official process weighing the legal status >of the FP. > >Copyright 1998-2000 World Socialist Web Site. All rights reserved. > >***** >____________________________________________________________________ > >TURKEY ACCUSED OF ARMING TERRORIST GROUP >____________________________________________________________________ > >THE NEW YORK TIMES >International News >February 15, 2000 >http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/europe/021500turkey-terror.html >By STEPHEN KINZER > >ISTANBUL, Feb. 14 -- A growing scandal stemming from a crackdown on a >religious terror group has led to accusations that the group may have >received weapons from the Turkish government. > >In a series of raids that began last month, the police have found 56 >gruesomely tortured bodies buried at hideouts used by the group, called >Hizbullah. There was another raid today in the eastern provincial capital >of Van, resulting in a shootout in which five police officers and two >suspected militants were killed. > >Soon after the first bodies were discovered, several leading politicians >and news commentators charged that Hizbullah had worked with the military >in its war against rebels among the Kurdish ethnic group in eastern Turkey. >Military commanders denied the charges. > >New evidence has emerged in recent days suggesting that Hizbullah used >weapons that were imported by the governor of a province in the heart of >the war zone. > >"Since there are weapons missing, they could have ended up anywhere," Prime >Minister Bulent Ecevit said. "This is an extremely serious situation, and >it is being investigated with the seriousness it deserves." > >Civil service investigators said the man who was governor of the mostly >Kurdish province of Batman in the mid-1990's, Salih Sarman, might be >charged with "establishing an armed unit without permission." Governors in >Turkey are appointed by the central government. > >According to press reports, a cache of weapons -- including at least 443 >automatic rifles, 115 rockets and 1,450 hand grenades -- that was sent to >Batman by the Turkish government is missing. Newspapers have reported that >many of those weapons were given to Hizbullah. > >During the 1990's, Hizbullah militants were believed to have killed many >suspected members of the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the >P.K.K., the initials of its name in Kurdish. The government was then >involved in a no-holds-barred war against the rebels. > >Military commanders have denied that they gave weapons to Hizbullah. "The >Turkish armed forces have never had a relationship with any terrorist >organization and will never have such a relationship," Gen. Atila Isik >asserted. > >Thousands of suspected political killings were committed in Kurdish >provinces during the war. In Batman Province alone, there were at least 363 >such "mystery killings," none of which have been solved. Another 43 people >are listed as missing. > >Newspapers have charged that Tansu Ciller, who was Turkey's prime minister >in 1995 and 1996, authorized local officials in the Kurdish region to >distribute weapons to terror groups that opposed the rebels. > >Mrs. Ciller has admitted that she ordered weapons delivered to the Batman >governor, which was an unusual step, since weapons are normally sent only >to military units. She said that her order had been approved by the >military chief of staff and senior police officials, and that she was "glad >today that we took those actions then." > >"We met and made a decision," Mrs. Ciller said. "We agreed that terror was >the top issue, and that we had to do whatever was necessary. It was not >possible to act otherwise. We had to do everything possible, and we did." > >President Suleyman Demirel said military commanders had assured him that >all weapons in Batman could be been accounted for. But he said that some of >the weapons might have been given to paramilitary village guards, and that >"from there they may have found their way to other places." > >"The state is not always obliged to follow routine," Mr. Demirel said. "It >can deviate from routine when higher interests require it, if the >government approves." > >Those statements provoked strong protests from several politicians. One of >them, Salih Yildirim, a prominent member of Parliament, said: "The >Constitution specifies what the state may and may not do. Anyone who acts >outside these limits is committing a crime." > >A retired general, Nevzat Bolugiray, told an Istanbul magazine that he >believed that Hizbullah might have received government weapons, but that >the transfer had not been approved by military commanders. > >"Some people who see themselves as patriots formed what amounts to a >terrorist group," General Bolugiray said. "I believe there may have been >government officials who used Hizbullah against the P.K.K. This creates the >appearance that it was official state policy, but in my opinion it was >actually an action taken by certain individuals." > >Reports of how the government fought Kurdish rebels in Batman have led to a >series of revelations about actions taken in other Kurdish provinces. >Newspapers have reported that in 1994 the governor of Van, a province where >rebels were also active, approved formation of a secret unit made up of 18 >Kurdish-speaking soldiers. > >The soldiers posed as rebels, apparently seeking to find out which families >or villages would sympathize with them. They also harassed local peasants, >demanding money, weapons and volunteers. > >The unit's roughness was apparently too persuasive. It was ambushed outside >the village of Diyadin by a squad of village guards loyal to the >government. Eight of its members were killed and another nine were wounded. > >Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company > >***** >____________________________________________________________________ > >FORMER TURKISH PRIME MINISTER MAY HAVE HELPED TO ARM TERRORISTS >Huge Hezbollah weapons caches in Turkey rouse suspicions of government >complicity >____________________________________________________________________ > >FRANKFURTER RUNDSCHAU >Thursday, 17 February 2000 >http://www.fr-aktuell.de/english/401/t401003.htm >By Gerd Hoehler > >Athens - The Turkish terrorist group Hezbollah has murdered at least 484 >people since 1991, according to the most current findings of investigators. >The investigators said apparently the group used weapons it received from >the state, perhaps even with the complicity of former Turkish Prime >Minister Tansu Ciller and others. > >They have found the bodies of 58 Hezbollah victims, most of them tortured >to death, and the official estimate of nearly 500 Hezbollah murders is >probably too low. Investigators fear that well over a thousand have died at >the hands of the Islamic terrorists. > >The Turkish government denies charges that it has used the Hezbollah >against Kurdish civil rights activists as a sort of unofficial death squad >or has at least turned a blind eye to Hezbollah killings of them. But the >discovery of several huge Hezbollah weapons caches in south-east Anatolia >has spawned the suspicion that governmental agencies may be helping to arm >the underground terrorists. > >Sunday night five police officers and three suspected Hezbollah activists >died in a shootout in the eastern Turkish town of Van after the police had >surrounded a house used by the terrorist group. > >Now Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has ordered an investigation into the >whereabouts of large numbers of weapons, about 2.8 million dollars worth of >them, purchased by a provincial governor between 1994 and 1996 which have >seem to have disappeared since then. The weapons, mostly grenades and >rifles, were imported from China and Bulgaria. > >They allegedly were meant for a 1,000-man special unit being formed by the >provincial governor for combating the Kurdish separatist movement PKK. >Their purchase alone was an unusual piece of business, since Turkish >provincial governments are not authorised to acquire weapons. They were >paid for with money from a government housing-construction fund. > >That irregularity aside, a large part of them were smuggled past Turkish >customs into the country. But the big question facing investigators right >now is the whereabouts of about 670,000 dollars of firepower. There are no >records of what was done with those weapons or when, where and to whom they >were issued or given. Investigators fear they may have fallen into the >hands of the Hezbollah. > >Batman, the Turkish province where the weapons disappeared, has a >reputation as a Hezbollah stronghold. The organisation has been established >there since the mid-80s. No other south-eastern Turkish province has such a >high number of unsolved murders and kidnappings. Generally, the victims - >usually Kurdish politicians, human rights activists, trade unionists and >journalists - have been executed with a shot in the head at close range. >Others have disappeared without a trace. > >The name of ex-Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller has surfaced once again >in the investigation of the mystery of the disappeared weapons. She has >said that she approved the provincial governor's purchase of the weapons, >and she has already faced accusations in the past that the state hired drug >smugglers and professional killers to deal with irksome Kurdish civil >rights activists. > >Ciller paid her public respects to gangster Abdullah Catli three years ago >when he died in a car accident. For years he had been wanted by the Turkish >authorities for murder. Catli had been recruited by Turkish government >agencies as a Kurd-killer. Ciller's then foreign minister, Mehmet Agar, >supplied him with a forged passport. To justify her involvement in the >weapons deals, she claimed she was just doing what she had to do to live up >to her "responsibilities in the fight against terrorism." "I'm glad I did >what I did back then," she said, "and I'd do it again today if I had to. > >Copyright Frankfurter Rundschau 2000 > >** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, material >appearing here is distributed without charge or profit to those who have >expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for research and >educational purposes. ** > >ANTIFA INFO-BULLETIN (AFIB) >750 La Playa # 730 >San Francisco, California 94121 >To subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Inquiries: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >On PeaceNet visit AFIB on pol.right.antifa >Via the Web --> http://burn.ucsd.edu/~aff/afib.html >Archive --> http://burn.ucsd.edu/~aff/afib-bulletins.html > >ANTI-FASCIST FORUM (AFF) >Antifa Info-Bulletin is a member of the Anti-Fascist Forum network. AFF is >an info-group which collects and disseminates information, research and >analysis on fascist activity and anti-fascist resistance. 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