>Status: > >STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG > >The Independent (UK) > >Turks crush protests over arrest of mayors >By Justin Huggler in Istanbul >23 February 2000 >Turkish police waded into crowds protesting yesterday against the arrest >of three democratically elected Kurdish mayors – arrests that could >wreck Turkish hopes of becoming a full member of the European Union. >"Freedom for the mayors!" chanted demonstrators in Diyarbakir, the >biggest city in the Kurdish dominated south-east. It was the third day >of peaceful protest, and the police broke it up with their customary >brutality, beating demonstrators with truncheons and taking them into >custody. >Crowds of angry young men were reported roaming the city's backstreets. >It was an abrupt end to the atmosphere of peace and hope that has >reigned briefly in the region. >In Berlin, diplomatic sources were reported to be saying the EU >presidency was preparing a formal diplomatic protest at the arrests. >Feridun Celik, the mayor of Diyarbakir, was arrested at the weekend when >gendarmes set up roadblocks and held up his official car. He and the >mayors of Siirt and Bingöl are accused of aiding the outlawed >Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which recently ended 15 years of bloody >rebellion against Turkish rule. >All three are members of the People's Democracy Party (Hadep), Turkey's >only legally recognised Kurdish party, which dominated voting in the >south-east in last year's elections. It was the first time in years >Kurds had been able to vote for Kurdish representatives, and they turned >out in force – Mr Celik polled 63 per cent. >"The mayors' efforts for stability, democratic solutions and a lasting >peace in Turkey are some of the reasons they were taken into custody," >Sehabettin Ozarslaner, a Hadep mayor who escaped arrest, told a special >news conference yesterday. >The arrests shattered an unprecedented atmosphere of hope in the >south-east. The PKK recently renounced armed struggle, and 15 years of >violence and terror in the region have all but ended. Kurds were >convinced the EU would pressure Turkey to grant them long-witheld >minority rights. >Turkey was formally accepted as a candidate for EU membership last year, >but the EU is demanding improved rights for the Kurds before it admits >Turkey as a full member. >Since the elections, EU members have increasingly looked to the Hadep >mayors, with their mandate from the people, as legitimate >representatives of Turkey's Kurds. Two days before his arrest, Mr Celik >met the Swedish Foreign Minister to discuss the position of the Kurds. >Ankara refuses to recognise Turkey's Kurdish population of about 10 >million as a legitimate minority. Their language is banned in schools >and on television. Those who criticise this policy tend to end up in >jail. >The arrest of democratically elected representatives will reawaken fears >in the European Union over the respect given to democracy in Turkey. The >last members of a Kurdish party elected to parliament are still >languishing behind bars, and pro-Kurdish parties have been >systematically closed by the courts. >Lawyers for the arrested mayors claim marks have been seen on their >bodies that could be evidence of physical abuse, and have demanded full >medical examinations – a sign the arrests could renew EU scrutiny of >Turkey's desperately poor regard for human rights. Under emergency laws, >the mayors can be held for four days without formal charge or access to >a lawyer. > > >______________________________________________________________________ >To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Unlike any Steaks you've ever tasted...Filet Mignons from Omaha >Steaks! No "supermarket" steak can equal the perfect taste and >tenderness of a Filet Mignon from Omaha Steaks. Now order 4 (5oz.) >Filet Mignon for $29.99 and receive a free gift! >http://www.listbot.com/links/omaha2 > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
