ANKARA: Turkish Academic, Publisher Sent To Jail In Anti-Terror Prob

TURKISH ACADEMIC, PUBLISHER SENT TO JAIL IN ANTI-TERROR PROBE

Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Nov 1 2011

BuÅ~_ra Ersanlı, a member of the Peace and Democracy Party’s Party
Council and Constitutional Commission,(right in the back seat) was
arrested on Tuesday. (Photo: AA)

An Ä°stanbul court on Tuesday arrested 44 suspects, including Professor
BuÅ~_ra Ersanlı and publisher Ragıp Zarakolu, on terrorism charges
as part of an investigation into the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK),
an umbrella group that allegedly encompasses the terrorist Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) and its affiliated organizations.

Ersanlı and Zarakolu were taken to the BeÅ~_iktaÅ~_ Courthouse
on Monday along with 48 others who were detained on Friday by the
Ä°stanbul Police Department’s counterterrorism unit.

Ersanlı, a member of the Peace and Democracy Party’s (BDP)
Party Council and Constitutional Commission, Belge Publishing House
representative Zarakolu and 48 others were interrogated by a prosecutor
following a medical examination. The prosecutor referred 47 of them
to court late on Monday, requesting their arrest and accusing the
suspects of establishing a terrorist organization, leading a terrorist
organization and being members of a terrorist organization.

Three of the suspects were released after being interrogated. The
court only issued arrest warrants for 44 of the 47 suspects referred
to court by the prosecutor.

The KCK is accused of attempting to establish an alternative governing
system and terrorizing locals in the country’s predominantly Kurdish
areas. Most of the accused face charges of membership in and/or aiding
and abetting a terrorist group. The investigation into its activities
is being conducted by Ä°stanbul Public Prosecutor Adnan Cimen.

Ninety-six people were arrested as part of another operation against
the KCK in Ä°stanbul earlier this month. The KCK investigation
started in December 2009 and a large number of Kurdish politicians,
including several officials from the BDP, have been detained as part
of the case since then.

The suspects have been accused of various crimes, including
membership in a terrorist organization, aiding and abetting a
terrorist organization and attempting to destroy the country’s unity
and integrity. The suspects include mayors and municipal officials
from the BDP, which has said the investigation is the government’s
method of suppressing its politicians, denying any links between its
deputies and terrorist organizations.

Meanwhile, a large group of Turkish intellectuals, mainly academics,
have launched a petition campaign to protest the detention of Professor
Ersanlı and to call for her release. A joint statement by the group
said the detention of Ersanlı, who has for years been working for
sustainable peace and a new constitution in Turkey, led to outrage
among all circles in the country that believe in the democratic state
of law.

“The detention of Professor BuÅ~_ra Ersanlı is a heavy blow dealt to
Turkey’s efforts towards a real democracy with equality, peace, social
justice and academic and political freedoms. We demand the immediate
release of Professor BuÅ~_ra Ersanlı and all other jailed politicians,
academics and journalists who work for peace, democratic rights and
freedoms in our country. The detention and arrest of people without
any concrete and serious evidence under the primitive mentality of
‘though crimes’ is against human rights,” the statement said.

Among the intellectuals who have signed the joint statement are Ahmet
Ä°nsel, Ali Bayramoglu, Cengiz Aktar, Cengiz Candar, Hulya Gulbahar,
Murat Belge, Mithat Sancar, Oral CalıÅ~_lar, Umit Cizre, Baskın Oran,
Fuat Keyman and YaÅ~_ar Kemal.

The arrest of Ersanlı, who was assisting with the BDP’s preparations
for a draft proposal for a planned new constitution, and other KCK
suspects further infuriated the BDP. “These [KCK] operations are
organized to intimidate and silence those who have a democratic
stance. Mrs. Ersanlı is a colleague who devoted her 40 years
to science and who is known for her pro-human and women’s rights
credentials. What can be the grounds for her arrest? One single
thing: Her siding with what is right. … We are now face to face
with a mentality that wants to silence Kurds and democrats,” BDP
Co-chairwoman Gulten KıÅ~_anak told reporters on Tuesday following
her party’s parliamentary group meeting.

When she was asked whether her party would consider withdrawing
from the Constitutional Reconciliation Commission established in
Parliament to draft a new constitution after Ersanlı’s arrest,
she said it would not be correct to make such a comment.

“We joined the commission to contribute to the constitution-making
process. If we face an approach that would prevent a democratic
constitution and that would make our presence there meaningless,
our party would evaluate this situation. … We will try to maintain
our positive stance. But if this becomes impossible, we will not be
responsible for that,” she said.

From: A. Papazian