RIGHTS-TURKEY: Kurdish Mayors Arrested

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Nadire Mater

ISTANBUL, Feb 24 2000 (IPS) - Three Mayors, who are members of the pro- Kurdish HADEP (People’s Democracy Party), were this week arrested on charges of “complicity with the outlawed PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party)”

The men, Greater Diyarbakir Mayor Feridun Celik, Siirt Mayor M. Selim Ozalp and Bingol Mayor Feyzullah Karaaslan were arrested on orders from the Diyarbakir State Security Court (DGM).

The arrests have resulted in a hail of protests from Ankara’s European allies and local public opinion leaders.

The men were arrested for allegedly violating Article 169 of the penal code and providing support to an outlawed organisation. If found guilty, they face prison terms ranging from between four to seven years.

Critics have accused prime minister, Bulent Ecevit, of initiating the prosecution process against the Mayors. Last week Ecevit publicly criticised the HADEP mayors and accused them of “legitimising separatism.”

Only a short while before his arrest, Greater Diyarbakir Mayor, Feridun Celik denied this saying; “All our statements and messages are directed at gaining peace.”

Analysts have criticised the government’s handling of the Kurdish issue warning that it may hamper Turkey’s bid for membership of the European Union.

In a joint declaration, Council of Europe Secretary General Walter Schwimmer, speaker of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Lord Russel-Johnston and president of Congress of European Local and Regional Governments Alain Chenard slammed the arrests and called for the immediate release of the Mayors.

“It is surprising that the Turkish authorities have arrested local leaders who were trusted and elected by their people,” states the declaration.

“We expect Bulent Ecevit to intervene in order to protect the rights of elected people, to contribute towards normalising the situation in Southeast and to respect political and cultural rights in the region,” it adds.

Nicole Fontaine, the European Parliament speaker, denounced the arrests and warned that the move will damage Turkey’s international image.

Daniel Cohn-Bendit, chair of Mixed Parliamentary Commission with Turkey in the European Parliament described the action as “wedging a gap between the (European) Union and Turkey.”

“Those mayor elects have been symbols of peace. There is no justification for the harassment of elected local leaders,” he said.

Hannes Swoboda, an Austrian socialist deputy with the European Parliament said; “This (the arrests) is a slap on the faces of democrats in Turkey and the EU. Turkey is sabotaging itself. Candidacy is not an automatic progress to membership,” he warned.

Turkish president Suleyman Demirel however has refuted claims that the arrests are unlawful.

In a press statement he said; “All are accountable. Noone is endowed with the privilege to violate the law and the government’s duty is to enforce it. We enforce our laws ourselves,” he said.

In a landslide victory in the country’s April 1999 elections HADEP candidates won almost all the mayoral seats in the south eastern province and districts.

In response, the government recognised the legitimity of the elected candidates and acknowedged the role they played in reconciliation. So the arrests have come as a surprise.

However Ali Oncu, spokesperson for the local “Democracy Platform” comprising local trade union branches, associations and citizen’s initiatives described the arrests as “unlawful”.

He said the situation was tense in the city. People in Diyarbakir, Siirt and Bingol are reported to be demonstrating daily against the arrests.

Several people are reported to have sustained injuries in clashes with police during the demonstration while hundreds are reported to have been detained.

Oncu says the action against the mayors has been orchestrated by “circles within the state who do not want to see the conflict resolved.”

These forces are “a roadblock to democracy, peace and human rights,” he told IPS.

Kurdish leader Ocalan’s former lawyer, Ahmet Zeki Okcuoglu, says the prosecution against mayors is related to Turkey’s limited margin for a solution to the Kurdish conflict.

“The state seeks to liquidate the HADEP. Turkey’s new conception of limited rights to Kurds excludes HADEP’s superiority in the region,” he observes.

“This is a risky projection, but Turkey likes risks, they want uninterrupted disturbance. Lasting peace requires a thorough change in the present administrative mechanism – too much for Turkey,” he says.

A PKK spokesperson on Wednesday challenged the government and called on “the people to react and force the government to review its conduct”.

“The PKK already has 70 percent support among locals,” says PKK spokesperson Ryza Altun. “Not only among HADEP but also among other grassroot parties. Their existence should not be used as justification for charges against HADEP,” he adds.

“The PKK is determined to further efforts to bring about the legitimisation of the organisation. If you exclude PKK out of the democratisation process, this means war,” he warned.