-Caveat Lector- A more official representation of the Turkish point of view of the Kurdish situation >From www.turkey.org (Policy & Politics) Human Rights in Turkey Terrorism As A Violation of Human Rights A widely agreed definition of terrorism states that: "terrorism is the use or the threat of the use of violence, a method of combat, or a strategy to achieve certain targets, that it aims to induce a state of fear in the victim, that it is ruthless and does not conform with humanitarian rules, and that publicity is an essential factor in the terrorist strategy". Within the framework of existing human rights law, the understanding of this subject adopted by the international community in general, and by some human rights circles (such as NGOs) in particular, resulted-unfortunately, until a few years ago- in exclusively monitoring human rights violations allegedly committed by the state in their combat against terrorists. Neglecting to monitor the terrorist combat methods employed by those terrorists responsible for killing thousands of innocent civilians as well as their terrorist acts presented perverted picture of the states. Such a picture portrays the states, though they are combating terrorism in all its forms, as committing unilaterally and almost without reason or provocation, all sorts of violations in breach of the rule of law. Obviously, this picture certainly served the purposes of the terrorists to influence world public opinion. The international community felt the ever increasing urgency to prevent and combat terrorism. Turkey, as a country suffering from the deplorable effects of terrorism, greatly has contributed to this effort. Article 30 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights treats states, groups and persons on an equal footing when their acts or activities aim at destroying the rights set forth in the Declaration. Following a reinterpretation of this article, terrorism was considered and admitted within the realm of human rights violations in the Vienna Declaration, adopted at the World Conference on Human Rights. This understanding has been reiterated in several other resolutions adopted by UN bodies and other international organizations. Finally, the resolutions on "Human Rights and Terrorism" adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 23, 1994 (49/185) and on December 22, 1995 (50/186) reiterated grave concern over the gross violations of human rights perpetrated by terrorist groups and the increasing number of innocent and maimed by terrorists in indiscriminate and random acts of violence and terror. Thus, it called upon the states to take all necessary and effective measures, in accordance with the international standards of human rights, to prevent, combat and eliminate all acts of terrorism wherever and by whomever committed. A SPECIFIC CASE: PKK TERRORISM IN TURKEY The most notorious terror organization that Turkey has to deal with is the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party. It has declared its objectives on numerous occasions. These objectives can be summarized as a quest for an independent Kurdish state built on Marxist-Leninist principles. The territory of such a state would be gained bys the secession of southeastern and eastern Anatolia from Turkey. The method adopted by the PKK in order to impose its views and aspirations is based on murder and destruction. The PKK kills civilians. It kills civilians because they don't belong to their group. It kills Kurds because they have to be intimidated and subjugated into acceptance of the PKK's views and demands. Not only does it kill people, but it also attacks civilian targets in order to make the region unlivable for those who remain alive. The PKK also destroys schools, sets forests on fire, blows up railways and bridges, plants mines on roads, burns construction machinery and demolishes health centers. Obviously, such an enterprise requires colossal financial resources. The PKK obtains this financing mainly through drug trafficking, the extortion of money inside and outside Turkey, and other illegal ways and means. Economic Development: The Best Tool Against Terrorism The Turkish Government has always believed that the best tool in the efforts against terrorism is economic development. It is no coincidence that the region in which the PKK operates is also the most economically underdeveloped part of Turkey. Whatever support the PKK has is a result of the lack of economic opportunities there; the Government is determined to reverse that. In 1994, the Government allocated TL 5.6 trillion (approximately $186 million) economic aid and development program for ten southeast provinces that includes agricultural and housing projects. The agricultural programme will encourage farmers to shift to more suitable crops and will develop intensive farming projects. In 1995, the Government allocated TL 2.8 trillion (approximately $47 million) for infrastructure projects and TL 288 billion (approximately $4.8 million) for food, medical aid and other consumer goods. The housing project includes construction of 6795 houses in cities and the building of new houses for villagers left homeless by PKK attacks. 5782 of these houses were completed and handed oven to owners and 2321 houses and offices repaired. This program is simply one facet of an overall development campaign in the southeast, which also includes the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), a gigantic hydroelectric and irrigation project that will transform the economy of the arid southeast. Spending on the project, which will ultimately consist of 22 dams, 10 hydroelectric power plants and 37 irrigation systems, proceeds at $1.7 million daily. Investments in the region constitute 17.5% of the total investments made throughout Turkey, despite the fact that the population in the southeast is only 9% of the country. Annual investment by far outpaces tax revenues generated in the region. As of 1994, the industrialized areas within GAP cities constituted 7% of the total industrialized areas in Turkey. This number will reach 13%.218 factories have become operational within the GAP region, employing 22,000 people. Upon completion, the total number of factories is estimated to reach 1,400 with an employment capacity of 140,000. PKK's Involvement in Drug Trafficking Terrorism is a serious menace which challenges the contemporary world. There exist numerous terrorist organizations resorting to a wide range of terror tactics, from slaying civilians to attacking government officials. What all these terrorist organizations have in common, apart from the violence they apply, is that any single terrorist organization needs to raise funds to continue its violent activities. Not surprisingly, they use illegal means to finance their illegal acts. Therefore, drug trafficking constitutes one of the major financial sources of terrorist organizations, in addition to robbery, intimidation, kidnapping, blackmailing, and arms smuggling. Today, it is clearly evident that terrorism and drug trafficking are intertwined. This fact is illustrated by certain international documents. For instance, the Final Communiqu� of the Council of Europe Pompidou Group 2nd Pan-European Ministerial Conference (Strasbourg, 4 February 1994) underlines the fact that "considering the continuous increase in and the spread of drug trafficking incidents, the involvement of violent organizations in such activities constitutes a serious threat to contemporary society" (Art.9). Thus, "it is vital for the security forces to combat terrorism effectively" (Art.15). The UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988) recognizes the links between illicit drug trafficking and other related organized criminal activities which undermine legitimate economies and threaten the stability, security and sovereignty of states. Paragraph 5 of the 1992 report of the UN International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) points out that "illicit cultivation of narcotic plants and illicit trafficking in drugs continue to be a threat to the political, economic and social stability of several countries. Links appear to exist between illicit cultivation and drug trafficking and the activities of subversive organizations in some countries." The 1993 INCB report draws attention to the organic connections of drug cartels and terrorist organizations, and also to the globalization of drug smuggling. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is one of the most vicious terrorist groups in the world and is also involved in drug trafficking, relying on all sorts of terror tactics, such as: slaying innocent civilians, including women and children. The PKK's drug trafficking activity constitutes a major part of its financial apparatus. The money gained from illicit drug dealings and marketing is channeled to funding its arms purchases, in order to continue its violent acts of terror. The PKK smuggles narcotics brought from the Southeast Asia and the Middle East to Europe. Surprisingly, for the first time, a terrorist organization is involved in all aspects of the drug connection, namely: the acquisition, importation and distribution of drugs. The money generated from drug trafficking amounts to hundreds of millions of US dollars. Some of this is used to purchase firearms and other equipment, while the rest is pocketed by those who carry out these illegal activities on behalf of the PKK. The PKK exerts sustainable efforts to keep its involvement in drug trafficking under cover, in order to not attract public reaction, particularly in Europe. However, the evidence suggesting the PKK's involvement in drug trafficking is continuously increasing. The list below is compiled from reports by the foreign media, foreign officers and the local Turkish authorities, and proves that the PKK's involvement in drug trafficking is continuously increasing. The list below is complied from reports by the foreign media, foreign officers and the local Turkish authorities, and proves that the PKK's involvement in drug trafficking ( i.e. the PKK-narco terror connection) is self-evident. 1.Three years of intensive police investigation by the Slagelse Police and the Nacro Section of the National PoliceTurn-out Force in Denmark has resulted in the solving of several armed robberies whose spoils were used to finance narcotics purchases. Police captured Inga Larsen of Denmark who had links with two Turkish narcotocs kingpins living in Denmark: Ali Nazim Sivrikaya and Kara Mehmet Secilmis, also known as "During the trial, the close relations between Carlos and the PKK was proven. Superintendent Niels Bech of the National Police Turn-out Force expressed that large parts of the profits from narcotics sales in Denmark have returned to Turkey. "Carlos" even got people to send the money via a post in Germany. In one case, 140,000 were sent to Mustafa Agdeve in Turkey, who in return sent kilos of heroin to Europe (Danish Daily, "Berlingske Tidende," 31 October 1993). 2.Hamburg Criminal Police arrested a Kurdish band of drug smugglers on 15 September 1993. Children age 11, who were also arrested with the band, later confessed to police that the PKK brought them from Turkey to Germany via illegal means, in order to make them sell drugs. The PKK is cruel enough to abuse young children and force them to sell drugs since they are too young to have penal responsibility (Hamburg Local TV Broadcast, 15 September 1993). 3.In 1993, more than 50 Kurds were arrested by Essen Police, Germany. The Federal Criminal Department in Wiesbaden discovered that the PKK was organizing drug traffincking in Germany and that the narcotics trade in Hamburg, Bremen, Frankfurt and Essen was under the control of the PKK (German Daily "NRZ," 30 March 1993). 4.In 1992, a total of 2,069 drug addicts died in Germany. That same year, police arrested children, ages 10-12, coming from Southeastern Turkey to sell drugs in Hamburg. An eight year old child, carrying a firearm, was also arrested. All these children confessed that the PKK was using them to sell drugs, since they do not have penal responsibility. The police seized 30 kg of heroin from a Kurd who said he was to transfer DM 150,000 to his partners. The estimated figure the PKK earns from the narcotics trade is more than 56 million DM (The VOX TV, Germany, 12 February 1993). 5.In January 1992, Bremen Police arrested a Kurd for selling drugs. Police found a set of keys in his pocket, which belonged to an apartment where Kurds lived. On the walls were posters of the PKK and its leader Abdulah Ocalan. The police also found some clues suggesting that the PKK finances its armed struggle with profits derived from the heroin trade (SAT-TX, 24 Hours, 6 January 1992). 6.In 1993, police seized 200 kg of heroin in London and , as a result of the investigation, learned that the drug traders were working for the PKK. 7.Sengul Karacan, captured in Caracas, Venezuela on 10 November 1993 while carrying 3.5 kg of cocaine, confessed that she was a PKK courier. This incident proves the many links of the PKK with the drug cartels even in Latin America. 8.A police operation carried out in the international waters of the Mediterranean, seized 3 tons of heroin from the ship "Kismetim I." It was later discovered that the heroin belonged to the PKK and was on route to Europe. 9.The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for narcotics, Ambassador Robert Felbard, answering a question at a press briefing in February 1994 regarding the PKK supervision of drug trafficking in Europe and the U.S., stated that the US had quite a bit of information about the PKK's involvement in the transit of heroin into Europe. 10.The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics Matters, in its International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (1992), expressed that 2/3 of the people involved in drug trafficking incidents in Europe are of Kurdish origin. 11.Italian Police issued a report (No: 777/C/1-1/2391/D2/91/DMS/ST), a copy of which was also handed to German Interpol. listing the PKK's involvement in narco-terror case by case. 12.PKK member Hakki Kitay, captured by police with 14.5 kg of heroin on 1 September 1993, confessed that he was acting on behalf of the PKK and that he was a drug-smuggler and transferring 30% of the PKK's income. 13.Sertif Kitay, another PKK member accused of drug trading admitted in his statement to the court that he was selling drugs to raise funds for the PKK. 14.A PKK militant, Muhammad Abdullah Hasan of Iranian ethnic origin, confessed that the PKK has drug production facilities and that Osman Ocalan is in charge of the production which is later marketed mainly in Europe to raise money for the PKK. 15.Abdurrahman and Halis Erol, arrested with 30 kg of heroin, expressed that they were planning to sell the drug to provide financial contribution to the PKK. 16.Suleyman Bugrahan of the PKK also confessed that he was smuggling drugs in the name of the PKK and transferring 30% of the money to the organization. 17.Hasan Moglu, arrested by police on 3 September 1993 regarding an incident in which 100 kg of heroin were seized in Kapikule, was found out to be a PKK member. 18.Turkish Security Forces seized 120kg of heroin and 40 kg of hemp seeds in a PKK shelter in Southeastern Turkey. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority. -Thomas Huxley + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. 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