Repression over the free press

8
Contents
•
Uludere is state massacre
•
Repression over the free press
•
Artists on the target
•
A historic unity in Turkey: Peoples' Democratic Congress
•
Our opinions about Palestinian national reconciliation and peace talks
1/10
Uludere is state massacre
F-16 warplanes striked villagers in Ortasu
(Roboski) village of Uludere district of Şırnak.
On their way back to their village some 50
villagers, who make border-trade across the
border of Iraq, have been exposed to
bombardment by F-16 warplanes at night of 28th
of September. 35 villagers have been killed as a
result of airstrike. Most of deaths are youngsters
whose ages are between 12 and 20. In the
statement that "there were bitter smell,
everywhere was flamed and the bodies have
been burned" by villagers who survived with
injury confirms that napalm bomb was used.
What happened in Uludere is completely a state
massacre. It is not coincidence that this
massacre has occurred after the meeting of
National Security Council (MGK). This is the
result of AKP government’s war policies.
Residents of these villages make their living of
border-trade (which the state names as
smuggling). This trade takes place with
approval and knowledge of soldiers who serve
at that district. And mass murder of villagers
unveil that AKP governments policy for
solution on Kurdish question is massacre. It is
unveiled that “advanced democracy” and
“initiative” policies AKP are massacre policy
with bombardment.
The massacre of Uludere is similar getting
killed by a firing squad of 33 villager by
General Mustafa Muğlalı in 1943 in Van's
Özalp county. Today instead of being killed by a
firing squad, mass murder of villagers with
napalm bomb is continuation of government’s
denial and holocaust policy. Pro-war politicians
have substituted Mustafa Muğlalı who has went
away.
The massacre of Uludere has revealed the
ongoing war reality. This is the war. This has
unveiled AKP who has insisted on war.
The massacre policy is the result of persistence
war policy. War should be ended; honorable,
just, democratic peace demand must be met.
Peace is a vital demand of our peoples.
2 / 10
Let's protest against the massacre everywhere.
and democratic peace.
Let us raise our voices combined for honorable
ESP Central Office
3 / 10
Repression over the free press
Police operations, investigations and massive
trials into The Union of Kurdish Communities
(KCK), the umbrella organization that includes
the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
have seen thousands of pro-Kurdish politicians,
elected mayors, journalists and rights activists
arrested in the last two years.
The KCK operation carried out on 20 December
2011 was against journalists and 48 journalist
were taken under custody. The number of
arrested journalists as of 20 December 2011 in
the context of the KCK were 36.
Mostly local correspondents, the journalists
detained are working for Özgür Gündem, Vatan
and BirGün dailies, ETHA, Dicle and Fırat
News Agencies as well as AFP.
While the claims against the jailed are kept
'confidential' yet, the main-stream media
reported (depending on the police resources)
that the suspects are alleged members of the
“Press branch of the KCK”. Main-stream
medias broadcast pictures of journalists being
taken under custody.
Thousands of people took the streets in Istanbul
and Ankara, protesting the arrest of journalists
on allegations related to the so-called “KCK
operation”.
More than five thousand people walked through
Istiklal Street in downtown Istanbul, protesting
the arrests. Protesters demanded the removal of
the Anti-Terror Law (TMY) which serves as the
basis for the operations. Socialist journalists
have been on duty for solidarity in front of
Istanbul Police Center for three days. Our Party
fully supported and took part in this movement.
While police search was continuing at Özgür
Gündem's office, socialist journalists protested
the repression over opponent press.
One of those released, editor of ETHA news
agency (etha.com.tr) Arzu Demir wrote about
her experience. Briefly, "The police said: There
is a demand of arrest against you with regard to
the investigation into the PKK/KCK terrorist
organization. Given the progression of this
investigation over the last two years, I had the
impression that journalists were next in line.
My part in this operation was my link to Roj TV
and Fırat News Agency (ANF) as a socialist
journalist. We were held for three days at the
İstanbul Police Counter-Terrorism Unit. Neither
4 / 10
we, nor our lawyers were able to get
information on the allegations against us. I was
asked about my trip to Germany in 2002, during
a journalism program organized by Heinrich
Böll Stiftung and Independent Communication
Network. Yet it was formulated (by the police)
as a visit to a PKK meeting in Northern Iraq!
Neither the dates nor the content were coherent,
so this accusation easily went away. Most of
prosecutor’s evidence was formulated in this
manner. Our article notes were deemed as
organizational documents and articles forced to
be written by the PKK" she said.
Internationally working organization for
freedom of press and expression Reporters
Without Borders declared that they were very
concerned about the arrests of journalists. "The
Turkish police keep carrying out the same kind
of operations against journalists, mass arrests
and confiscation of computers and articles as
evidence. The Kurdish issue will not be solved
by attempts to suppress dissident views in the
name of combating terrorism. The authorities
must stop trying to criminalize journalism,
including politically committed journalism"
they said.
The representative for Human Rights Watch,
Emma Sinclair Webb, said the latest detentions
are part of a worrying trend. "The arrests
represent a further clampdown on dissenting
opponent voices in Turkey. This has become a
pattern, of the last few months" said Webb.
Journalist detentions is carried out for creating
intimidation among the ranks of the oppressed
people. In terms of “Anti-Terror Law”, by
carrying out KCK operations Turkey is
transforming into a civilian dictatorship.
5 / 10
Artists on the target
Interior Minister Idris Naim Şahin, in his
speech to the policemen of political branch (so
called 'Anti-Terror Police') pointed at poets,
painters, columnists, think-tank institutions,
cultural centers, education associations,
professors as the 'backyard of terror'. He
ordered the police to "eat the weeds of the
backyard". He made a new definition of terror
with the words "artistic terrorism", "scientific
terrorism".
His words were as follows:
"However the activities of the terrorist
organization[s] are not limited to armed
attacks; they do not only take place up on
mountains, and slopes, nor only in cities and on
the streets, and on the back streets at nights by
laying insidious ambushes. There is another leg
of this [operation]. There is psychological
terrorism, there is scientific terrorism. There is
the backyard that fosters terrorism. In other
words, there is propaganda, terrorism
propaganda."
"And how do they achieve that? Maybe they
paint their reflections on a canvas. Or they may
write poems, articles, short features, or
wherever they write. Unable to slow down, they
get carried away and try to demoralize the
soldiers or the police, who fight against
terrorism, by turning them into the subject
matter of their art. In one way or another, there
is some kind of battle with those who fight
against terrorism. The indirect activities of
terrorism that take place in the back yard –and
this back yard is Istanbul, Izmir, Bursa, Vienna,
Germany, London, wherever [they may be], [at]
a university chair, an association, a nongovernmental organization.
As a matter of this day and age, the more the
non-governmental organizations we have the
more democratic we are but, from the point of
view of terrorism, too, it is a need to infiltrate
6 / 10
into these organizations; and they can; it is
possible to do so, so they have. It starts out as
an innocent association; some are cultural
organizations, others educational. Now, the
fight against those ones up in the mountain and
in the rural areas is relatively easy, but when it
comes to the backyard, the weeds get mixed up
with garden cress. They all appear green. They
all get mixed up; some are poisonous, some are
beneficial. One understands which is which
only when one eats them."
Of course, this was not an ordinary explanation
of ideas, since it was done by the Minister of
the Interior Affairs and at a coordination
meeting of the police. These were direct orders
to jail any opponent intellectual or artist.
The Nazi-minded Minister of Interior orders
and people are imprisoned en-masse.
We are in a period in which the borders of
freedom of expression are determined by the
Anti-Terror Law -not laws and constitution.
Any right recognized by the constitution can
easily be regarded as crime depending on the
Anti-Terror Law. The real meaning of the 'AntiTerror Law' is 'Anti-Popular Law'. The Minister
of Interior İdris Naim Şahin has become the
chief judge of this law.
The Prime Minister, who himself went to prison
for reading a poem, had come to the point of
accusing poets for terrorism.
The Anti-Terror Law 'renewed' by the AKP
Government in 2006, is the basic tool for
imprisoning hundreds and thousands of people.
Now Turkey has become the 'world leader' inthe
number of Anti-Terror Law arrests (Totaling
13,000 political prisoners!) And this number
goes up and up everyday. The government had
left aside all its hollow promises of 'democracy'
and left aside all its masks. And since the
Kurdish national movement is in the pioneer
position of the democratic struggle, it has given
the highest price; 8,000 prisoners.
Part of these fascist policies were the attack of
13th of January, in which totally 103 points were
raided by the political police, mostly buildings
of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).
AKP has took over the control of the apparatus
of the state regime after the referendum of
2011. At the same time this meant the
assimilation of this party into the fascist regime.
AKP has become the representative of the
traditional fascist policies.
The Turkish state tradition to imprison artists
and intellectuals (like Nazim Hikmet and
Abidin Dino) embodies in the AKP Government
and its' Minister of Interior, İdris Naim Şahin.
Our Party called for the immediate resign of the
Minister of Interior and expressed this demand
in the streets in 5 cities, including İstanbul and
Ankara.
No Government in the history could finish
freedom struggle with arrests. On the contrary,
all the governments who imprisoned popular
masses had gone to the dustbin of history in the
end.
We call all the democratic, popular, socialist
forces of the world to raise the solidarity against
the political repression of the AKP Government
and help us to unmask its' lies of 'democracy'.
7 / 10
A historic unity in Turkey: Peoples' Democratic Congress
Democratic opposition forces of Turkey and
northern Kurdistan district, made a historic
unity in 2011 15-16 of October. A large number
of left-socialist-democratic-progressive forces,
including our party ESP and The Kurdish's parti
Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), established
Peoples's Democratic Congress (HDK).
Peoples' Democratic Congress is the first step of
“unity” that has been under consideration to be
formed against two main political currents
which is imposed by sovereign. Peoples'
Democratic Congress also discusses to establish
political party.
HDK was established to organize joint struggle
for a humanly living and e new soceity favors
oppressed, ignored, nature, labour, freedom,
equality, peace, justice and democracy. HDK is
a common fighting ground in which the
oppressed and the sweated; labours, worker,
migrants, women, villagers, youth, retirees,
handicapped, LGBT (Lesbian, Homosexual,
Bisexual, Transsekxual), leper and ignored all
people, all belief communities and people
whose habitat destroyed meet.
HDK struggles for recognation of all cultures
and identities of people living in Turkey,
opposses monist and assimilationist national
sovereignty conception. It appraises Democratic
Autonomy decision of Kurdish people is an
important initiative on solution of Kurdish issue
and struggles for Kurdish issue's peacefully,
democratically solution based on equel rights.
HDK also, fights against fascism, imperialism,
colonialism, invasions. HDK, who defends joint
struggle with region's people, presume world's
all peoples' struggle is its own struggle and
raises international solidarity.
HDK, who struggle against capitalizm, labour
sweating, corruptions and pillage, the gap in
income distribution, hunger and poverty, takes
the part of women on oppression and
exploitation relations where all women are
exposed to. It supports struggle of liberation of
women. It struggles against violence and
discrimination exposed by lesbian, homosexual,
bisexual and transsexuals.
Declaring its establishment on a meeting in
Ankara on 15-16 October, Peoples' Democratic
Congress, carry on its works in 20 region in
Turkey via “peoples's assembly”. These days
carrying out a campaign named “You sound out
too”, HDK protest natioanwide every Saturday
8 / 10
at same time.
thousands of people on ptorests took a place
nationwide.
The first protest of campaign took place for 35
villagers who were slaughtered by Turkish
Armed Forces near Roboski village on TurkeyIraq border. Resignation of Prime Minister
Erdoğan, Interior Minister and Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff was demanded by
And on second week protest took place for
Armanian journalist Hrant Dink killed on 19
January 2007. Specifying that Hrant Dink was
killed by state HDK, demanded punishment of
those responsible.
9 / 10
We are also greeting Hamas movement because of
their recent decision to participate PLO, which
surely needs to be democratized and restructured on
the basis of resistance.
Our opinions about
Palestinian national
reconciliation and peace
talks
This national reconciliation will facilitate the
diplomatic initiatives to make Palestine recognized
as a state by UN. However, nearly 4 months have
passed since the request made by Mahmoud Abbas
and there’s still no result. On the other hand, it is
almost sure that US will veto a decision for
recognition even if the request for membership may
arrive to the UN Security Council.
Under these circumstances, it is not easy to
understand why PA has decided to restart the peace
talks. As it is well known, the new talks started in
Amman do not foresee any advance concerning the
major issues like settlements in West Bank,
Jerusalem’s status or refugees question.
Solidarity Association with the Palestinian People
(FHDD) protested 2007 Gaza massacre on the
anniversary of “Operation Cast Lead” in Istanbul.
Palestinian national struggle is one of the major
issues which revolutionary movement of Turkey has
been interested in since the 1970’s. It is also known
that nearly 5,000 leftist militants that had to leave
Turkey after military coup in 1980 has preferred to
go not to European countries but to occupied
Palestine and to refugee camps in Syria and
Lebanon.
Although the ties between Palestinian left and
Turkish left are not as strong as it was in the past,
some forces of the revolutionary movement of
Turkey, including our party ESP, still cautiously
follow the political agenda in Palestine and try to
develop international solidarity about the issue.
One of the questions in which we are interested is
the national reconciliation
between Palestinian factions started in May. We are
greeting these initiatives that will strongly help to
the struggle against occupation.
It is also not easy to understand why and how Saab
Erakat is posted to “represent” Palestinian people
after public opinion has learned a lot of things about
him thanks to the documents revealed by Al Jazeera
last year.
We, as the Socialist Party of the Oppressed, support
the objections of many Palestinian parties against
the peace talks under these conditions, which will
only give more time and more advantages to the
Zionist occupation state.
Finally, although we believe that a Palestinian state
recognized by UN will be a historical gain for the
Palestinian people, we still believe that a real and
equitable solution is one democratic and secular
Palestinian state in the 1948 borders, having
Jerusalem as capital and giving the right of return to
all refugees.
We shall continue to support Palestinian people until
this becomes real.
Revolution until victory!
10 / 10