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Thu, Feb 09 2012
Turkey jails editor for 21 years
Turkish Kurds chant slogans as they hold a banner of Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), during a demonstration in central Brussels, October 1 2005.
A Turkish court has sentenced the editor of a Kurdish newspaper to 21 years in prison for printing what it called Kurdish rebel propaganda. The stiff sentence is part of an ongoing crackdown on legal Kurdish groups. But, the government says its still committed to ending the conflict with the PKK.
Judges in Diyarbakir, the largest city in the mostly Kurdish southeast, this week found Ozan Kilinc, editor of the daily Azadiya Welat Ozan, guilty on charges of disseminating terrorist propaganda on behalf of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.
They said Kilinc had allowed the daily to publish photographs and texts praising the PKK during 12 editions in June 2009.
The articles described the jailed leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, as the "leader of the Kurdish people". But, Turkish officials say it had failed to describe Turkish soldiers killed in battle as "martyrs". That was sufficient under Turkey's anti-terror laws to be guilty of supporting terrorism.
The PKK, which launched an armed campaign against the Turkish state for greater Kurdish rights, is branded a terrorist organization by Ankara, the European Union and Washington.
The newspaper has had to replace six editors in three years because the editors had to either flee the country to avoid imprisonment or were jailed.
But the jailing of its latest editor comes as the Turkish government has committed itself to ending a 25-year conflict with the PKK. Observers say the ongoing crackdown on Kurdish activists could be undermining such efforts.
According to Turkish human rights groups, in the last year nearly a thousand members of the country's legal Kurdish movement have been arrested under Turkey's anti-terror laws.
On Wednesday night in Diyarbakir, hundreds of Kurdish activists - including the city's mayor - marched through the streets to start on going campaign against the arrests . One of campaign organizers explained the protest.
"We are calling for everybody to turn off their lights for two minutes at 8pm for freedom, justice and equality," he said.
State prosecutors claim the detentions are part of a nationwide investigation into links between legal Kurdish parties and the PKK.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party government has expanded the rights of minority Kurds since it took office in 2002. But efforts to launch a so-called "Kurdish initiative" were dealt a blow after the Constitutional Court last year shut down a Kurdish party for what it said were links to the PKK.
The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly challenged Turkey's harsh anti-terrorism laws.
Observers say the latest sentencing of Ozan Kilinc will raise questions again in the EU over freedom of the press in Turkey, and whether it is really making sufficient progress in its bid to join its ranks.
Source: Voice of America
Judges in Diyarbakir, the largest city in the mostly Kurdish southeast, this week found Ozan Kilinc, editor of the daily Azadiya Welat Ozan, guilty on charges of disseminating terrorist propaganda on behalf of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.
They said Kilinc had allowed the daily to publish photographs and texts praising the PKK during 12 editions in June 2009.
The articles described the jailed leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, as the "leader of the Kurdish people". But, Turkish officials say it had failed to describe Turkish soldiers killed in battle as "martyrs". That was sufficient under Turkey's anti-terror laws to be guilty of supporting terrorism.
The PKK, which launched an armed campaign against the Turkish state for greater Kurdish rights, is branded a terrorist organization by Ankara, the European Union and Washington.
The newspaper has had to replace six editors in three years because the editors had to either flee the country to avoid imprisonment or were jailed.
But the jailing of its latest editor comes as the Turkish government has committed itself to ending a 25-year conflict with the PKK. Observers say the ongoing crackdown on Kurdish activists could be undermining such efforts.
According to Turkish human rights groups, in the last year nearly a thousand members of the country's legal Kurdish movement have been arrested under Turkey's anti-terror laws.
On Wednesday night in Diyarbakir, hundreds of Kurdish activists - including the city's mayor - marched through the streets to start on going campaign against the arrests . One of campaign organizers explained the protest.
"We are calling for everybody to turn off their lights for two minutes at 8pm for freedom, justice and equality," he said.
State prosecutors claim the detentions are part of a nationwide investigation into links between legal Kurdish parties and the PKK.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party government has expanded the rights of minority Kurds since it took office in 2002. But efforts to launch a so-called "Kurdish initiative" were dealt a blow after the Constitutional Court last year shut down a Kurdish party for what it said were links to the PKK.
The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly challenged Turkey's harsh anti-terrorism laws.
Observers say the latest sentencing of Ozan Kilinc will raise questions again in the EU over freedom of the press in Turkey, and whether it is really making sufficient progress in its bid to join its ranks.
Source: Voice of America
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The Sofia Echo
Hey..I don't like Apo...he has not done anything for Kurdish people..at the same time I don't like the closed-minded nazi generals of Turkey..first one is a dog the others are pigs...simple as that.
What is said by "TurkishView" is a very harsh and provocative language. It is people like you who drive many up into the mountains because they feel that they don't have any choices, is the same language of some politicians like Baykal and the other guy..I don't even know his name "Devlet" or something. I don't think it is right to insult people like what you are doing Because what you said exactly applies to your culture as well. If you leave us alone, we will leave you alone and the opposite is true. Let us make sense and be [...]
Read the full comment reasonable. If this is about equality, then why do Turkish generals say Turkey is about being Turkish that is it. They also say only Turkish is the official language. Like guest2 said, how many street signs do you see in Kurdish? none. How many businesses have signs that read in Kurdish? none. We have seen all kinds of documentaries from Turkey..you can't fool us anymore..sory boy ha ha ha ha.
I see something wrong with the article above..all of those people making such a fuss about only one individual..if this is about "Kurdish" than, next time those people should think about their language..how many offices in Turkey actually serve clients in Kurdish....how many business signs show Kurdish on them on the streets..how many street and highway signs are in Kurdish? that is something that these people should be fighting for..not some Appo in prison..it is total insanity..
Shame on you Turkish View, no one in the right mind would attack people as a whole like you.
The language of "Turkish View" tells it all about their feelings towards Kurdish people. Thanks for showing how you feel. Whether you like it or not, it is up to Kurdish people to decide their future, not some brutal regime that is been built on bloodshed in the first place. Anything that is said about certain old traditions is common to the majority of middle east cultures including Turks as well. It is a matter of time, just like Saddam Hussein and his lies to the rest of the world about Kurds until it caught up to him eventually. No [...]
Read the full comment attacks of any kind and not even if out numbered will stop Kurds from deciding their future. All the talks by Turkish politicians are efforts of misleading Kurds and the rest of the world. Go ahead and stop the Kurds if you can, please try, that is appreciated. You will spend the time getting sick in your heart and there will be nothing that you say or do that will stop the will of the people. After all, there is no right meaning for the word democracy in Tukish dictionary. Just go read on google about arrests of Kurdish politicians for speaking Kurdish in public or related other matters.
Looking back to 1974 on the one hand, and the current Greek crisis on the other, now would be a Very Good Time for Turkey to invade Greece....or at least recapture Thrace and Greek Macedonia ! Plus the islands, of course.....
Once should tell you "guest", Kurds will not get shit out of this terrorism and act of vilonce!! they already have rights more than most so called european countries give to their minorities! they have access to education, they have the right to kurdish broadcast, right to move to Istanbul (we are not russia) and this who moved to that land first argument can go back thousands of years and did not solve many conflicts in the past! Kurds live in Anatolia for a long time as peasents with a language that has 3 tenses only, because of the geography [...]
Read the full comment of their area most dont eve understand each other!! if you like we should let them our country with their superior diplomacy and state bodyies going back thousands of years in mountains! you would even make Kurds laugh!! these are people who take their sick to "HOCA" some religous moron rather than hospitals built by Turkish state. These are people kill their own children when they are raped (in most cases by other family members). We even give too much to them! they should do some good for themselves first!!!
Excuse me:
"only those who DON'T live in glass houses should throw rocks at others".. Obviously the Turks do...
Kavacik,
I mean my post as a joke in relation to the Siderov bit.
Every country has imperfections and only those who live in glass houses should throw rocks at others - obviously the Turks don't.
Otherwise I have no horse in that race. Turks, Kurds - work it out.. or don't.
Kavacic(another turkish agent). First of all Kurds are not carving out anything out of anybody's land. You got it backwards. It is Turkey(remains of Ottomans) that carved out what is knowns as the great Kurdistan. Just like hunderds of years ago when Ottomans occupied vast areas of Europe calling it their empire or as if it was their own. The hole is now greater than the peice of cloth you are trying to cover with. You don't even need to try to convince the rest of the world otherwise. Everyone knows the truth. People are intelligent enough to know what [...]
Read the full comment is going on inside Turkey. Kurds have lived in their own towns for thousands of years. Just like Turks, they have the right to self-rule. Anyone with the right mind will understand. You are making it look like as if Kurds have come from somewhere else and started living on Turkish land. In my view, what we see now on the street is the beginning of the beginning of something very important.
Valeri,
Think like this, if the Kurds were Bulgarian citizens how much rights they would have in Bulgaria? Would they have a 24 hours TV or Radio programs? Would they be allowed to name their cultural associations with the word "KURD" inserted in it? Would Kurd be accepted as a President or Prime Minister of Bulgaria? Would they be allowed to be Generals in the Bulgarian Army?. If they were fighting to curve out part of Bulgaria how the Bulgarian people would react, and how many years they would rotten in that notorious Belene jail? In Turkey they [...]
Read the full comment have all these above mentioned rights. They are about 13% of the population and 35% of the Grand National Parliament are of Kurdish back-ground. So you be the judge.
Just because of what is written in this article, this country cannot be a EU member. The EU is actually playing with Turkey in case the turkish army will do some gesture regarding Cyprus and other european issues. But if it ever happens, the EU will close the door for Turkey and for good. There are enough members in the EU and to add Turkey will create more problems than benefits for the EU.
"The PKK, which launched an armed campaign against the Turkish state for greater Kurdish rights, is branded as a terrorist organization by Ankara, the European Union and Washington."
Firstly, PKK's sole purpose is independence not greater rights. They launch terrorist attacks killing both kurds, turks, as well tourists in major cities in Turkey since late 1980s.
It is indeed a recognised terrorist organisation by many as well as EU.
If you illustrate support publicly for a terrorist group and you do this consistently for some time, the only [...]
Read the full comment place you will go is jail, the term 21 years sounds long enough!! EU or whoever is concerned would be very happy about such a sentence, if it was not Turkey but Pakistan or Irak doing the same on people who support terrorists over there!!
You may face jail for saying "there is no Armenian genocide it is total bullshit as we lost so many people as well, it was rather a war!"
But it should be okay to support PKK who currently kills people!
We are very sorry to upset EU and its members with this sentence!!! believe me we wouldnt care less!
What are you going to do reject Turkish membership to EU again :) it is not going to happen anyway! :)
Only news I read on Turkey in Bulgarian media is negative. You may say there is nothing positive about Turkey anyway and you may also call this public speech :)
Do you feel any shame Kavacik?
This comment has been removed by the moderator because it contained foul, abusive or discriminating language