KESKIN: “THE CAMPAIGN IS MANIPULATED”
Ayse Durukan
BÝA, Turkey
June 8 2006
Istanbul – Human Rights Association (HD) Istanbul branch former chair
Eren Keskin held a press conference this week in relation to the
“violet condemnation” of her by 20 women organisations through public
advertisements in the Hurriyet and Cumhuriyet newspapers.
During the conference and a subsequent exclusive interview with Bianet,
Keskin said she did not believe the text of the advert was from the
women organisations themselves adding that the attack against her
person appeared to stem from a single source. She also recalled that
after similar kinds of public criticism, former chairman of the IHD
Akin Birdal was shot in an assassination attempt.
IHD chairman Yusuf Alatas, IHD Istanbul Branch chair Hurriyet Sener
and Derya Demirtas and Feray Salman of the Network of Solidarity with
Eren Keskin accompanied Keskin at her conference.
Keskin: I invite them to act with responsibility
“It is an extremely painful situation for a woman or women
organisations to issue an advertisement inviting violence” Keskin said.
“It is sad for a women to do this to a woman. Those who identify
themselves as feminists should first stand up against militarism. If
they are not doing this, they should then ask themselves how much of
women rights defenders they are”.
Keskin invited those who issued the adverts against her to act with
responsibility and asked “after this advertisement, if some people
come up and take their own initiative, are they then going to feel
responsible to this?”
Interview with Keskin
Following her press conference, Keskin was interviewed by Bianet
asked and replied to various questions pertaining to the situation.
You are a woman, so are they. Why are they attacking you?
“I do not believe this attack directed at me is has been writer by
the women organisations. I believe it stems from the same place. I
have been receiving threats for years. I am one of the persons who
the Chief of General Staff has filed a [criminal] complaint against.
I believe this text is not very independent.
“Because in relation to this incident, to the speech, while Necla
Arat filed a criminal complaint they did it together with the Chief
of General Staff. Arat testified against me at court”.
What does being a persona non grata mean?
“For instance, I would immediately rush to an injustice inflicted
on a Kemalist woman. I would not think she is a Kemalist. If I
did, I would not be a women’s rights advocate. They, on the other
hand, do not approach it in this way. In my view what determines
them primarily is their Kemalist identity. Their other identities
come after that. This is where the problem is. To me this is really
painful. They have declared me a persona non grata, they are condemning
me ‘violently’. As it is, declaring someone as persona non grata
means getting rid of them.
“Because, in the year 98, such articles, advertisements came out
against Akin Birdal and a short while later Akin Birdal was shot.
Because of this I invite them to rethink this. Will they be able to
get out from under such a responsibility? There are people in this
society who could read this advertisement and act in rage”.
Are you being protected?
“No I am not protected.”
Have you applied for protection?
“No. But in the year 1999, at the time [outlawed Kurdistan Workers
Party leader] Abdullah Ocalan was brought [to Turkey], I was one of
his lawyers. At that time Osman Baydemir and I were receiving a lot
of threats. The state proposed to give us protection. At that time we
rejected this. They have to protect us anyway. This is their duty. I
did not see it necessary to constantly go around with policemen. ”
One of the accusations against you is that you are with the PKK. Are
you a member of the PKK?
“Of course I am not. I am an advocate of human rights. Other than this,
in every speech I made I have voiced that violence is not a solution
to the Kurdish problem, that the time of armed struggle in the world
had passed by, that violence strengthened militarism. I have never
been a member of any organisation but I am a lawyer of PKK cases. I
have acted as attorney to them and to various Kurdish and socialist
circles. I have also acted as attorney to Abdullah Ocalan.
These are separate things.
“This is my profession. I am a lawyer who attends political trials. I
also defend a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem and even the
right of the Kurdish people to determine their own fate. I voice this
everywhere. In any case it is the easiest thing to declare you as a PKK
member when you say anything against the red points of militarism. A
very easy method.”
You said that women should review their policies on issues such as
the Cyprus question and other issues. Do you think it is easy for
women to conduct politics?
“Women live through all forms of oppression with double the impact.
Their fronts are closed. They cannot go out on the street. Not every
woman is like us. If she does not have economic freedom, how will she
conduct politics? I believe that an antimilitarist policy is necessary
and that this can only be achieved by antimilitarist feminists and
homosexuals. Because in my view these are sections that are totally
void of any prejudice. I do not even believe socialists are void
of prejudice.”
Does prejudice increase pressure?
“Prejudice and those prejudiced against are being distanced. I
think those who face prejudice are the ones who most understand what
militarism is pressing upon them. In my view militarism is not on
the agenda of many organisations in Turkey who see their place in
the opposition front.”
Currently there are debates on new human rights, women rights,
children rights. What do you think about these?
“Of course international law has made some gains. We cannot deny
this. But I believe that the international law system is extremely
dominated by men and is militarist.
“If one needs to cite an example, thousands of women following World
War I and World War II were raped as it happens during all wars. But
the Tokyo and Nurenburg trials did not accept that rape was a war
crime. Whereas after the clashes Bosnia and Ruanda, as result of the
struggle of the women there, it was regarded as a war crime.
“Still the Convention on Immigrant Rights does not accept violence
against women as a single reason for asylum.
“Or conscientious objection. It is still not given as a duty for
state by international law. It is only in the Copenhagen criteria
and with an open end. In other words, these show that international
law is dominated by men and is militarist throughout the world. These
examples show this openly.
What lies behind the attack on you by woman organisations that identify
themselves as feminist?
“First of all, in feminism, feminists must definitely be
antimilitarist… Feminists also stand up against racism, chauvinism,
capitalism, the effects of these on women and to all other forms of
influences and pressures. This is what I see as feminism.
“But unfortunately in Turkey the official ideology is always that of
a Turkish style feminism. A Turkish style environmentalism. A Turkish
style socialism. In other words it always gets caught somewhere at
one point. Not just for women. Because of this I believe those who
identify themselves as feminist and those who say the are advocates of
women rights should oppose all of those red points that are created
by militarism. For instance the Cyprus issue, the Armenian genocide,
the Kurdish issue. In other words, I believe they need to re-evaluate
themselves on all issues.
–Boundary_(ID_tLhOcvM+4B6ZdPfNd9VHSQ)–

CPJ CONCERNED FOR PERSECUTION OF COLUMNISTS
BÝA, Turkey
June 8 2006
New York – “We are concerned by the ongoing criminal prosecution of
journalists in Turkey” says the Committee to Protect Journalists
New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide.
CPJ’s concern is the three journalists appearing before the courts
in Istanbul this week for their work.
Magden
Perihan Magden, a columnist for the weekly magazine Yeni Aktuel, went
on trial on Wednesday charged with discouraging Turks from performing
military service by defending conscientious objectors.
In a December article, Magden took up the case of Mehmet Tarhan, who
received a record four-year sentence in military jail for refusing
to wear his military uniform, The Associated Press reported. Magden
called for the establishment of civilian service as an alternative
to military conscription. She faces up to three years in jail if
convicted under article 318 of the Turkish penal code. Magden’s trial
was adjourned until July 27.
Belge and Saymaz
The trial of journalist Murat Belge of the daily Radikal resumes
Thursday. He is charged with attempting to influence the outcome of
judicial proceedings through his writing. He wrote an article last
year challenging the decision of an Istanbul administrative court to
ban an academic conference on the mass killing of Armenians under the
Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1917. The Armenian massacre is still taboo
in Turkey. If convicted, Belge faces up to four and a half years in
prison under article 288 of the Turkish penal code. Charges against
four other journalists prosecuted along with Belge for writing about
the conference ban were dropped in April.
Another journalist for Radikal, Ismail Saymaz, will also appear in
criminal court tomorrow on charges under article 288, which stem
from an article alleging the torture of children by authorities,
according to the Turkish press freedom organization BIA.
Cooper: “Repeal the laws
“The existence of repressive laws in Turkey gives an opening to the
enemies of press freedom. We urge Turkish prosecutors to withdraw the
charges against these journalists, and refrain from filing future
charges,” CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper said. “We call on the
Turkish government to continue to work for the repeal of laws that
restrict work of the press.”
BIA says that since the new Turkish penal code went into effect on
June 1, 2005, 17 journalists who discussed human rights cases, the
Armenian conference ban case, and torture cases, have been charged
with attempting to influence court decisions under Article 288.
–Boundary_(ID_fYekFSwvJFznJgyOrhenpg)–

84 ARRESTED ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING CHARGES
Radio Polonia, Poland
June 8 2006
A criminal gang smuggling people across the Polish border has been
broken by the border services in Opole, south-western Poland. The
detention of 84 members of the group came as the crowning of an
investigation going on for over a year. Apart from Poles, the gang
included citizens of Ukraine and Armenia. They are all being charged
with smuggling people and forging documents.

JUNE 18 – 20 10TH ROUND OF NK TALKS TO BE HELD WITHIN THE FRAMES OF DARTMOUTH CONFERENCE ON REGIONAL CONFLICTS
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
June 8 2006
June 18 – 20 the 10th round of the talks between the representatives
of RA, Azeri and Nagorno Karabakh public within the frames of the
American-Russian Working group of Dartmouth Conference on Regional
Conflicts will be held in Snegiri, a town in the Moscow region.
The issues to be discussed will be determined at the spot, RA
Democratic Party leader, RA NA deputy Aram G. Sargsyan told DE
FACTO Information-Analytics Agency. However, it is known that in the
course of the 10th round of the talks the outcomes of the RA and AR
Presidents’ Bucharest meeting are to be discussed.
Aram G. Sargsyan also said some modifications had been made in
RA delegation: RA first ombudsman, executive director of the Fund
against Violations of Law Larissa Alaverdyan had been included in the
delegation. To note, Mrs. Alaverdyan has already participated in the
work of the Dartmouth conference on Karabakh, however, she suspended
her activity being appointed RA ombudsman.
Dartmouth Conference on Regional Conflicts is the only format of the
Karabakh talks held with the participation of the representatives of
the Nagorno Karabakh public. At the 9th round of the talks within
the frames of the Dartmouth conference on Karabakh conducted in
December, 2005 a Frame Agreement on peace process in the region was
coordinated and approved by the representatives of RA, Azeri and
Nagorno Karabakh. March 2006 the Co-Chairs Harold Saunders and Vitaly
Naumkin visited Baku, Yerevan and Stepanakert for the first time.

ARMENIAN FM: NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN ARMENIA AND TURKEY WERE HELD BEFORE ERDOGAN WROTE TO KOCHARYAN
Regnum, Russia
June 8 2006
Negotiations and meetings between Armenian and Turkish diplomats have
always taken place, at a higher or at a lower level, Armenian Foreign
Minister Vardan Oskanyan told journalists on June 8.
“However, recently allegations have appeared in the Turkish press
that the talks between the two states were initiated by the letter of
the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan. This is not true, meetings were held before that,”
Oskanian said.
Turkish sources claim that Erdogan’s letter was followed by three
privy meetings between Turkish and Armenian diplomats. The last of the
meetings, i. e. the third round of negotiations, was held in March
in the margins of the summit of the three European Union countries
in Vienna. Head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry Abdullah Gul took
personal part in the talks.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CHAIRMANSHIP IN PABSEC TO BE TRANSFERRED TO AZERBAIJAN
Author: A.Mammadov
TREND, Azerbaijan
June 8 2006
Today the 27th plenary meeting of the General Assembly of the
Parliamentary Assembly of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC)
was completed in Armenia.
According to the speaker of Armenian parliament Tigran Torosyan, the
work of the Assembly was beneficial and aimed at resolving unsettled
questions facing the countries of the region.
On the final day of the meeting, the participants adopted the agenda
of the next 28th meeting of General Assembly which will be held in
Baku in November 2006.
The agenda of the meeting included various issues related to
alternative energy resources and their possible application in the
Black Sea region, optimization of international conditions in studying,
mitigating and minimizing the disasters in the Black Sea region,
legal protection of intellectual property, globalization process and
potential threats of cultural diversity.
The chairmanship in PABSEC will be transferred from Armenia to
Azerbaijan in near 6 months.

IRAN DENIES ITS TV CHANNEL’S REPORT ON ‘GARABAGH INDEPENDENCE’
Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
June 8 2006
Baku, June 7, AssA-Irada
Iran’s state-run television channel has reportedly termed Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh, an Azeri region under Armenian occupation, as an
independent country, despite its officials dismissing the statement.
The head of Iranian Foreign Ministry’s department on CIS, Mehdi
Safari, has told the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry that the reports
have no merit.
According to some media reports, the neighboring country’s TV-1
channel maintained that Upper Garabagh has been an independent state
for 15 years, while Azerbaijan is allegedly putting forth “territorial
claims” against the self-styled republic. The reports were commenting
on Sunday’s round of talks between Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents
in Bucharest to discuss settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.
The Azeri Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Taghizada said that in his
statement, Safari indicated that as a state channel, TV-1 expresses
only the position of the Iranian government and the latter’s stance
on the Garabagh conflict is clear.

RUSSIA WITHDRAWING FROM GEORGIA ACCORDING TO PLAN – COMMANDER -1
RIA Novosti, Russia
June 08, 2006
TBILISI, June 6 (RIA Novosti) – Another train with Russian military
hardware from a Soviet-era military base in Georgia departed from the
former Soviet republic according to plan, a senior Russian military
officer said Thursday.
Major-General Andrei Popov, in command of the Russian troops in the
South Caucasus, said the train had departed from the Black Sea base
of Batumi. He added that the remaining equipment at the base could be
removed by three trains, whereas 15 trains would be needed to withdraw
the remaining hardware from a base in Akhalkalaki in southern Georgia.
“The equipment is being removed according to schedule and without
any problems,” Popov said.
Under an agreement Russia and Georgia signed March 31, Russian
troops and hardware are to leave Georgia’s two Soviet-era bases in
Akhalkalaki and Batumi by 2008. The pullout from Akhalkalaki, about
30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border with Turkey, a NATO member,
is to be completed by December 2006.
Trains carrying equipment from the Akhalkalaki base depart once a
week from a railway station in Tsalka, 100 kilometers (62 miles)
east of the base, Popov said.
The withdrawal is being monitored by a joint Georgian-Russian
commission set up under the March agreement.
The bulk of Russia’s weapons will return to Russia and the rest of
it will be delivered to a Russia military base in Armenia.

TURKISH JOURNALIST CLEARED IN FREEDOM OF SPEECH TRIAL
Agence France Presse — English
June 8, 2006 Thursday 3:40 PM GMT
A Turkish court Thursday acquitted a prominent Turkish journalist in
a freedom of speech case linked to debate over the mass killings of
Armenians under the Ottoman Empire, the Anatolia news agency reported.
The court ruled that Murat Belge, a columnist for the daily Radikal,
did not insult the judiciary when he criticized a court decision that
briefly blocked a landmark conference last year on the massacres,
a long-standing taboo that Turks have only recently began to discuss.
The judge dropped similar charges against Belge over a second
critical article on the same issue, citing the statute of limitations,
Anatolia reported.
Belge risked up to 10 years in jail for the two articles.
The European Union has repeatedly warned Ankara that the prosecution
of intellectuals for exercising their right to free speech is damaging
Turkey’s membership bid.
Charges against four other leading journalists, who had been indicted
with Belge in the same case, were dropped in April because their
articles fell under the scope of the statute of limitations.
A landmark conference contesting Ankara’s official line on the Armenian
massacres — recognized as genocide by many Western countries —
was blocked in September when a court, petitioned by a group of
nationalists, ordered the suspension of the event.
It was held the following day after the organizers changed the venue
to circumvent the court order.
The ruling came under widespread criticism, including harsh words by
the EU and even the Turkish government, which backed the event in a
bid to prove its tolerance of dissenting views.
Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered in
orchestrated killings during World War I and want the massacres to
be internationally recognized as genocide.
Turkey categorically rejects the genocide label and argues that
300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife
when Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and
sided with Russian troops invading the crumbling Ottoman Empire.

APPROVAL OF EU-ARMENIA ACTION PLAN DELAYED OWING TO NEIGHBOR STATES
PanARMENIAN.Net
08.06.2006 15:02 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Talks with European Parliament Vice-President Edward
MacMillan-Scott in Yerevan were rather successful, Armenian FM Vartan
Oskanian stated at a news conference in Yerevan. “Vice-President’s
statement that Armenia can become EU member in coming 10 years was
good news to me,” Oskanian said.
The Armenian FM also noted that talks between Armenia and the EU over
approval of the Action Plan are not over yet. “There are no unsolved
matters within the program and there is no need for another round
of talks over the Action Plan. Delay of the final decision is due to
our neighbors having some difficulties with the EU,” Oskanian said.
As of Iran’s nuclear program, in the Armenian FM’s words, “Yerevan
assesses as positive the fact that Teheran did not turn down the EU
new proposals.” “We welcome EU High Representative for the Common
Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana’s efforts in Teheran and the
intention of the US to hold direct dialogue with Iran. We also hope
that it will be possible to solve Iran’s nuclear issue by means of
talks, without application of sanctions and military force,” Oskanian
underscored. The Armenian FM refused to comment on anti-government
statements of Azerbaijani residents of northern provinces of Iran.