Turkey is among the world's worst human rights violators. Its turbulent founding has contributed to the perception that all dissent is a threat to "national unity," which has been irrationally defended to the point of prohibiting all political opposition falling outside of accepted state ideology, no matter how peaceful. Yet, Turkey has recognized numerous international human rights treaties.^[1]  It belongs to the European Council and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), membership in which implies a country's willingness to uphold and respect international human rights norms. One of Turkey's national priorities, gaining full membership in the European Community, which requires specific improvements in the area of human rights, has so far been thwarted due to its poor human right performance when it came up for review most recently in December 1997.

Historical factors, including Allied aspirations to divide Turkey among themselves after the first World War and persistent Kurdish uprisings against Turkish dominance, coupled with more recent national political turmoil, have contributed to pervasive and systematic human rights violations. Employing methods devised during the rein of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, the Turkish government continues to use restrictive legislation, systematic human rights violations, and military intervention to achieve his vision of a highly centralized nation state based on Western European criteria of nationalism.^[2]  Some critics contend that policies pursued by Turkey are aimed at obliterating Kurdish culture and political identity.^[3]  Many individuals have raised their voices to oppose these tactics. While the PKK has responded with violence, Turkish and Kurdish academics, scientists, physicians and others have peacefully expressed their opposition only to be treated by the state as terrorists. They have been prosecuted under legislation defining certain forms of expression as terrorist activity, and imprisoned, tortured, and sometimes murdered.

Security forces justify human rights violations as necessary in the face of internal and external threats.^[4]  The most egregious violations stem from the military campaign against the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK)^[5]  in which the state has employed relentless policies, including a scorched earth campaign that has led to the evacuation of more than 3,000 villages since 1990.^[6]  The military's dominance in national politics fostered by a culture of violence that has contributed to the fourteen-year conflict with the PKK in southeastern Turkey has contributed to the violation of human rights in all sectors of society, including those falling under the mandate of the AAAS: scientists.

Human Rights Violations in Areas Under a State of Emergency

Human rights violations taking place in the southeast of Turkey are facilitated by a state of emergency in effect in the provinces most affected by the armed conflict with the PKK, giving security forces wide-ranging powers.

The state of emergency regional governor controls police services in the region and can assume control of any function of the civil administration. The governor and the armed forces at his disposal enjoy a high degree of official immunity from prosecution.^[7] 

Family member of the disappeared at the "Saturday Mothers" Protest in Istanbul.

In September 1996, the government was under considerable pressure from the European Parliament to repeal the state of emergency. To address these concerns Provinces Law No. 4178 was introduced. The new law "confers on the governor of each Turkish province many of the martial law powers enjoyed by the governor general of the emergency zone...effectively extending the application of emergency legislation to the entire country."^[8]  Thus, while the State of Emergency was lifted in a number of provinces in 1997, little has changed because restrictive powers have instead been extended to all provincial governors.^[9] 

Innocent civilians have suffered the majority of human rights violations taking place in the Southeast. According to the Turkish Medical Association, several epidemics are spreading due to this situation.

These villagers have lost their homes and properties, and even worse, lost their traditional surroundings. They live now under extremely poor and unhealthy conditions in the outskirts of big cities.^[10] 

On 4 July 1996, delegates from a AAAS-sponsored mission to Turkey met two villagers who reported how their village had been evacuated one week earlier, a tactic commonly employed by the Turkish military to deprive the PKK of civilian support. According to the villagers, two village guards^[11]  had been sent to the village on 28 May 1996 at 10:00 p.m. to apprehend two individuals. When other villagers tried to intervene, a fight broke out resulting in the death of the village guards. Security guards then reportedly invaded and burned the village as its inhabitants fled. Sixty families had lived in the village. At the time of our meeting they had still been denied access to their homes.

In Diyarbakir, a city in the southeastern region of Turkey where many refugees from evacuated villages have settled, the wife of a man who recently "disappeared" told the AAAS delegation that her husband had not been seen since 24 June 1997. She last heard from him when he called her at 3:00 p.m. to tell her that he was on his way home.^[12]  He had gone to a teashop near the Security Directorate to get tea for two friends he had waiting at home. They became quite concerned when he did not appear. His wife explained that when she later went to the public prosecutor to inquire about her husband her petition was not accepted. She described how her husband had previously been under constant surveillance. Her husband, a father of eight, was forty-five years old. At the time of our meeting, on 4 July 1997, he had been missing eleven days.

In the early 1990s, "disappearance" and extrajudicial execution were increasingly used against those suspected of being PKK sympathizers. The Turkish Human Rights Association documented a tenfold increase in the number of families who have reported relatives to be "disappeared" from 27 in 1994 to 295 in 1995. In the first nine months of 1996, 153 individuals were reported to have "disappeared." While one must take into consideration various factors explaining the increase of cases reported, such as increased public awareness and a willingness to report the incidents, the numbers remain troubling. In 1996, the International Helsinki Federation reported people in the Southeast "disappeared" or were shot by unidentified groups on a daily basis. While reduced in number, disappearances continued to be reported in 1997.^[13]  Members of a technical police unit under the authority of the Interior Ministry, called "Special Operations Teams," were allegedly responsible for hundreds of such murders.^[14] 

Torture

Human rights violations are not confined to areas under a state of emergency. "Extrajudicial killings, including deaths in detention, from the excessive use of force in safe house raids, and mystery killings, continued to occur with disturbing frequency and torture remained widespread."^[15] 

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) concluded that "the practice of torture and other forms of severe ill-treatment of persons in police custody-both ordinary criminals and persons held under anti-terrorism provisions-remained widespread."^[16]  In 1998, members of the Turkish government's own Parliamentary Human Rights Commission stated that they had proof of systematic torture.^[17] 

The use of torture in Turkey is indiscriminate. It has been reported from the very young, women, members of minority groups, lawyers, doctors, even members of parliament.

Methods of torture commonly used in Turkey include being stripped naked, beaten, falanga (beating on the soles of the feet), hanging by the arms tied behind the back or bound to a pole, hosing with cold water at high pressure, sexual assault of both men and women, and electric shocks to the mouth, fingers, toes and genitals.^[18] 

Police and security forces often abused detainees and employed torture during periods of incommunicado detention and interrogation. The European Committee determined that "torture and other forms of severe ill-treatment were still important characteristics of police custody."^[19]  During visits to police establishments in Adana, Bursa, and Istanbul, the CPT delegation found instruments and materials used to inflict torture, such as electric shocks and suspension of a person by the arms,^[20]  as did members of the 1998 Turkish Parliamentary Human Rights Commission. According to Amnesty International, torture in the Southeast is commonplace and is carried out by police and gendarmes (soldiers that have police duties in rural areas).^[21]  The level of impunity is such that accused officers not only remain on duty during investigations, but they rarely appear in court hearings against them; no police officer has ever been sentenced to prison for torture in a case involving a political detainee.^[22] 

The CPT identified a number of actions required to address the problem, including a recommended reduction in the period of pretrial detention.^[23]  This concern was finally addressed in 1996 when the government cut the maximum period of time a suspect can be detained without charge to fifteen days. Yet, that period can be extended up to thirty days in the areas under a state of emergency and allows for four days of incommunicado detention. The right to immediate access by all suspects to a lawyer is not provided. The International Helsinki Federation reported that the changes "had failed to reduce the widespread abuse and ill-treatment of prisoners."^[24] 

Legislation Limiting Freedom of Expression

"The 'tough measures,' which the government has introduced in the name of security, violate the human rights not only of alleged members of armed opposition groups but also of vulnerable minorities and ordinary citizens...."^[25]  To assist the military in its struggle against PKK militants on the ground, the Turkish government has implemented a series of laws effectively stripping residents of the Southeast not only of their rights protected by the Turkish constitution but also those guaranteed under international treaties to which Turkey is legally bound. Restrictive legislation was further instituted to address all forms of dissent throughout the Turkish Republic. While these laws are primarily used to address those opposing the government's treatment of the Kurds, they also apply to anyone who speaks out against state ideology, and supporters of Islamic groups or parties. The application of broadly worded legislation has made it increasingly difficult for professionals to perform their work without crossing political boundaries set by those interpreting the laws.

Language like "separatist propaganda" or "inciting enmity between people" can be found in Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law; Articles 168, 169, and 312 of the Penal Code; and in other legislation.^[26] 

Set against a society engaged in lively and open debate is a collection of severe restrictions to freedom of expression which continue to be imposed on those issues that the state considers vital to its integrity: maintaining the dignity of the army and the security forces, the institution of military service and, above all, defeating Kurdish "separatism."^[27] 

Among numerous laws with negative human rights consequences are articles appearing in the Turkish Constitution, the Turkish Penal Code, and the 1991 Anti-Terror Law, all of which limit freedom of expression and association. In Turkey, 152 laws and approximately 700 paragraphs in the laws are devoted to regulating freedom of expression alone.^[28]  Some of the laws used against individuals in the four case studies highlighted in Section IV of this report criminalize activities protected by international human rights instruments. Some critics contend that any Turkish scholar, scientist, researcher, or journalist seeking a peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem through debate has been arrested.^[29] 

Turkish authorities often point to the existence of a large number of newspapers and radio and television stations when responding to criticism about the limits of free expression in Turkey. However, one can learn more about the state of freedom of expression in Turkey from the large number of academicians, authors, and journalists who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the peaceful expression of their opinion. In July 1998, Article 19, a group monitoring freedom of expression around the world, reported that sixty-seven journalists were jailed in Turkey. The Turkish Journalists' Association declared that 109 issues of newspapers and magazines and eight books' press runs were confiscated by court order in 1997. In addition, forty newspapers and magazines were shut down.

Also revealing is the number of publications, political parties, and organizations that have been closed temporarily or banned due to the content of their literature or speech. Most notably, the ruling Rafah Party, which despite winning twenty-one percent of the vote in the 1996 general election, was forced to step down due to pressure from the military. Parliamentarians have also been imprisoned.

These violations are facilitated by legislation limiting freedom of expression. The 1991 Anti-Terror Law, introduced by President Ozal provides legal justification for the violation of freedom of expression and association, and is considered to be a major factor in the use of torture by police and security forces. It replaced a series of laws used against opponents of the military following the 1980 coups d'etat when most prisoners of conscience were prosecuted under Articles 141, 142, and 163 of the Turkish Penal Code. These articles imposed long terms of imprisonment for advocacy of communism, Kurdish separatism, or religion-based government.^[30] 

The Anti-Terror Law gave security forces vast powers of intervention to maintain pubic order.^[31]  Its broad and ambiguous definition of terrorism continues to be used to detain both alleged terrorists and others on the charge that their acts, words, or ideas constitute dissemination of separatist propaganda. It also provides that officials accused of torture or other mistreatment may continue to work while under investigation and if convicted may only be suspended.^[32] 

Article 312 of the Criminal Code, incitement to racial or ethnic enmity, was used to prosecute Haluk Gerger for an article that he wrote in 1995 concerning Turkey's role in the Provide Comfort Operation in Northern Iraq. Similarly, Article 159/1, defaming and belittling the state's security and military forces, was used to prosecute the publisher of the Turkish translation of a Human Rights Watch/Arms Project report.^[33]  The prohibition of "insulting the laws of the Turkish Republic and the decisions of the Grand National Assembly" codified by Article 159/3 was used to prosecute the executive directors of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey. The law to protect Ataturk, Number 5816, criminalizing expression perceived to insult the founder of the republic, has been used against sociologist Ismail Besikci.

By far the most frequently used and most widely criticized of Turkey's legislation is Article 8 of the Turkish Anti-Terror Law, which punishes any expression of separatism, whether violent or not, with long terms of imprisonment and heavy fines.^[34]  The law characterizes even non-violent advocacy of separatism as "terrorism."^[35]  Social scientists appear to have been particularly victimized under Article 8. Among other articles, economist Fikret Baskaya,^[36]  political scientist Haluk Gerger, and sociologist Ismail Besikci, have all been charged under Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law.^[37]  (The cases of Gerger and Besikci are addressed in detail in Section IV of this report.)

Largely due to international outcry, Article 8 was amended in October 1995 reducing the maximum period of detention from five to three years. However, it continues to criminalize the expression of certain thoughts and speech.^[38]  It still provides for the prosecution of "written and oral propaganda and assemblies, meetings and demonstrations with the aim of damaging the indivisible unity of the State of the Republic of Turkey, the nation and its territories...regardless of the method, intention and ideas thereof."^[39] 

A number of individuals were released or had their sentences reduced as a result of the amendment; however, journalists, academics, human rights defenders, and publishers of leftist or Kurdish topic publications were jailed or received new sentences under the amended Article 8 for other cases.^[40]  For example, Ismail Besikci and Haluk Gerger have been charged under both versions of Article 8. Ismail Besikci was sentenced to the accumulated total of more than 100 years in prison under the original Article 8. He was retried for six cases following its amendment. The trials resulted in the following changes to his sentences:

 

ORIGINAL SENTENCE	SENTENCE UNDER THE AMENDED ARTICLE 8
12 years/1,500,000,000TL (US$8,176)	6 years/600,000,000TL (US$3,270)
2 years/250,000,000TL (US$1,362)	1 year/100,000,000TL (US$545)
10 years, four months/416,000,000TL (US$2,267)	4 years, four months/433,000,000TL (US$2,360)
Sentence overturned by Superior Court	1 year, four months/133,133,000TL (US$725)[41]

The much-publicized conviction of prominent Turkish novelist Yasar Kemal offers another glaring example of the limits to freedom of expression in Turkey. He was charged under both the amended Article 8 and Article 312 for a piece that criticized the government for its comprehensive censorship of reporting on the Kurdish question.^[42] 

Article 8 is also frequently used against individuals and groups who monitor human rights violations in Turkey. As of July 1996, the government had brought more than 100 cases against Turkish Human Rights Association representatives under Articles 8 and 312 of the Penal Code.

While there is lively debate in Turkey about the economy, corruption of party officials ranging from embezzlement to participation in illegal armed gangs, or the drug trade, and various other issues, certain topics, including the Kurdish conflict, remain outside the realm of "public" discussion and are subject to severe restrictions. Limits to freedom of expression affect scientists, intellectuals, and their publishers perhaps more directly than any other human rights violations. However, often it is discussion of Turkey's human rights violations that places scholars at risk. This report details the cases of four such scientists. Often their publishers are also persecuted. For example, Ismail Besikci's publishers have been charged for the publication of his books and levied heavy fines, some of which they cannot pay. Many publishers are forced out of business, and if their fine cannot be paid, it is converted to a prison sentence.

According to Besikci's lawyer, a fine of 11,000,000TL (US$55) would be the equivalent to approximately three years in prison. Besikci's publisher, Unsal Ozturk, has published eighty-six books. He was charged for forty-four of them and convicted for thirty-six. By the beginning of July 1995, Unsal Ozturk had been sentenced to a total of 13 years, six months, and fined 1,623,000,000TL (US$8,847).^[43]  He is no longer in business and is currently in prison. In 1995, he and Besikci were physically attacked as they were taken from prison to their trial proceedings. The documents they intended to present to the court were destroyed.^[44] 

The government used Article 8 of the Anti-Terror Law to imprison Ayse Zarakolu, Director of the Belge Publishing House. Belge has challenged a number of Turkey's contemporary political taboos by giving a platform to Armenian, Greek, and Kurdish authors.^[45]  Her first indictment occurred when she published a book by Ismail Besikci, which resulted in a two-year sentence for Besikci and a two-month sentence and a fine for Zarakolu. "Twenty-two cases are currently pending against Zarakolu, but she shows no sign of weakening. After her most recent conviction, she vowed to continue her work even if it meant more prison time."^[46] 

The government also uses these methods to ban the works of foreign scientists, as in the case of French scientist Eve Termond who wrote about the Armenian genocide and whose work was published by Zarakolu's company. Because foreign authors usually reside outside of Turkey, instead of charging the author, the government charges the publisher whom it accuses of writing the book.^[47]  Ayse Zarakolu was also fined and sentenced to two years in prison for publishing a book by Professor Dadrian, a mathematician, philosopher, sociologist, and recipient of a Guggenheim grant to conduct research on genocide.

The government policy to punish all scientists who deviate from government ideology as well as their publishers has resulted in self-censorship in both professions. Few scientists are willing to write on controversial subjects; those that do are labeled terrorists by the government and the universities. Therefore, no alternative to the official party line is made available to the public.

Even members of Turkey's parliament are prosecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression. Thirty-one members of the People's Democracy Party (HADEP) have been convicted on charges arising from an incident in which a Turkish flag was pulled down at a party meeting. They have been accused of having ties with the PKK. Twenty-nine officials received four-year sentences, the party chairman and another party official received six year sentences. The individuals accused of pulling down the flag received a twenty-two year sentence; prosecutors had asked for the death penalty.^[48]  Human Rights Watch reports that a large portion of the evidence used against the parliamentarians qualifies as protected speech under the right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights.^[49] 

Of the human rights violations reported to the Turkish Human Rights Association, fifteen to twenty percent involve freedom of expression. Of that number, sixty-five to seventy percent of the individuals are accused of membership in the PKK.^[50] 

Legislation limiting freedom of expression is also used to silence human rights activists, for example Article 54 of the Law on Associations permits the closure of associations whose activities "harm the indivisible integrity of the state."^[51] 

Turkey's international obligations require that its legislation be brought into conformity with the treaties to which it is a State Party. Its human rights violations, justified by broadly worded, restrictive legislation has cost the country perhaps all hope of becoming a full member of the European Community-their main political objective for more than thirty years.

Turkey's Human Rights Obligations

Because of its aspirations for full membership to the European Economic Community, the Turkish government has taken most seriously human rights instruments coming out of the Council of Europe.^[52] 

The Turkish government strengthened its Convention obligations in 1987 when it recognized the right of individual petition to the European Commission (Article 25 of the ECHR) with limiting reservations, which were subsequently declared ineffective by the Commission.^[53]  Turkey is therefore subject to the Convention's articles establishing the rights to freedom of expression, freedom from racial or ethnic discrimination, and the right to a fair trial. Theoretically, the Convention standards have become enforceable within Turkish law.

As one of the original thirty-five participating states in the OSCE, Turkey has also agreed to respect and protect the principles of human rights and fundamental freedoms set down in the Helsinki Final Act of 1975.^[54]  In addition, Turkey has an obligation to recognize the rights enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted by the United Nations without opposition in 1948), which inter alia guarantees:

• freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 18);
• freedom of expression (Article 19);
• freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association (Article 20); and
• freedom of individuals to take part in the government of their country, directly or through elected representatives (Article 21).

Among other relevant United Nations international human rights instruments, Turkey has ratified the following:

• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), ratified on 20 December 1985;
• Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), including Articles 21 and 22 allowing for inter-state communications and individual communications respectively, signed on 25 January 1988, ratified on 2 August 1988; and
• International Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed on 14 September 1990, ratified on 4 April 1995.

The four case studies presented in this report illustrate Turkey's lack of compliance with these instruments. "The fact that authorities have not taken even the most basic steps necessary to comply with treaty obligations suggests that there is a deliberate policy of acquiescence to widespread and gross human rights violations at the highest level."^[55] 

^[1]  Turkey's Human Rights Obligations are described on pages 36-38 of this report. Return to Text

^[2]  Jonathan C. Randal, After Such Knowledge, What Forgiveness? My Encounters with Kurdistan (New York: Farrar, Strausand, Grioux, 1997). Return to Text

^[3]  Randal, After Such Knowledge, What Forgiveness? Return to Text

^[4]  Amnesty International, Turkey, No Security Without Human Rights (Amnesty International, 1996). Return to Text

^[5]  An armed organization founded in 1978, the PKK sought independence for Turkish Kurdistan and the establishment of a democratic and socialist society. The PKK has since announced that independence is no longer its primary objective. However, it continues to wage an armed insurgency in the southeast of Turkey. Return to Text

^[6]  US Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997. Return to Text

^[7]  Amnesty International, Turkey, No Security Without Human Rights. Return to Text

^[8]  "1997 Annual International Helsinki Federation For Human Rights Report," Press Release, Greek Helsinki Monitor, 19 June 1997. Return to Text

^[9]  Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Watch World Report 1998 (Human Rights Watch, December 1997) 284. Return to Text

^[10]  Erik Siesby, "A Peaceful Solution of the Conflict in South East Turkey," Turkish Daily News, 14 April 1997. Return to Text

^[11]  The village guard system was established as a civilian guard instituted to assist the military in its struggle against the PKK. Return to Text

^[12]  Individuals who fear state violence reportedly call their family and friends continually to inform them of their whereabouts while out of the house as a safety precaution. Return to Text

^[13]  US Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997. Return to Text

^[14]  Amnesty International, Turkey, No Security Without Human Rights. Return to Text

^[15]  US Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1996 (Washington, DC: GPO, 1997) 1153. Return to Text

^[16]  "Public Statement on Turkey," European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Council of Europe, 6 December 1996). Return to Text

^[17]  Mustafa Erdogan, Turkish Daily News (Ankara, 3 April 1998). Return to Text

^[18]  Amnesty International, Turkey, No Security Without Human Rights. Return to Text

^[19]  Turkey's Premier Worries About Military , Washington Post Online 21 June 1997. Return to Text

^[20]  1997 Annual International Helsinki Federation. Return to Text

^[21]  Amnesty International, Turkey, No Security Without Human Rights. Return to Text

^[22]  Neil Hicks, Delegation Has Mixed Impression on Human Rights Conditions in Turkey (Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, 25 July 1998). Return to Text

^[23]  International Committee for the Liberation of Kurdish Parliamentarians Imprisoned in Turkey (CILDKET), Update on the State of Affairs in Turkey, No. 50, 13 December 1996. Return to Text

^[24]  "Rights Groups Say Torture Still Rife in Turkey," Reuters North America, 19 November 1997. Return to Text

^[25]  Amnesty International, Turkey, No Security Without Human Rights. Return to Text

^[26]  Neal Hicks, Delegation Has Mixed Impression. Return to Text

^[27]  Amnesty International, Turkey, No Security Without Human Rights. Return to Text

^[28]  International Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan, IMK.EV, "The Kurds and Kurdistan: Thinking is a Crime," Report on Freedom of Expression in Turkey (International Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan, IMK.EV., January 1996). Return to Text

^[29]  Ismet G. Imset, "The PKK-Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?" The Economist, June 1996, 8-14. Return to Text

^[30]  Amnesty International, Turkey, No Security Without Human Rights. Return to Text

^[31]  1997 Annual International Helsinki Federation. Return to Text

^[32]  US Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997. Return to Text

^[33]  Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Watch World Report 1997, (Human Rights Watch, December 1996). Return to Text

^[34]  Amnesty International, Turkey, No Security Without Human Rights. Return to Text

^[35]  Amnesty International, Turkey, No Security Without Human Rights. Return to Text

^[36]  Baskaya was arrested for his book, Westernization, Modernization, Development-Bankruptcy of the Paradigm, which summarizes the socio-economic evolution of Turkey from the 1920s to the 90s. He was charged with separatism-writing propaganda against the unity of state and nation. Baskaya was sentenced under Article 8 of the Anti-terror law and served a twenty-month prison sentence. He was released from prison in July 1995. Return to Text

^[37]  Turkish Human Rights Association representative, conversation with the author, Istanbul, Turkey, July 1995. Return to Text

^[38]  Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Critique, Review of the US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 1995 (Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, July 1996). Return to Text

^[39]  1997 Annual International Helsinki Federation. Return to Text

^[40]  A number of publishers have been charged, fined, and imprisoned for publishing material considered a threat to the state. Return to Text

^[41]  This information was provided by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey. Return to Text

^[42]  US Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1996. Return to Text

^[43]  Unsal Ozturk, conversation with the author, Ankara, Turkey, May 1996. Return to Text

^[44]  Ozturk, conversation with the author. Return to Text

^[45]  Amnesty International, Turkey, No Security Without Human Rights. Return to Text

^[46]  Stephen Kinzer, "In Turkey Press Restrictions are Called Matter of Security," The New York Times, 1 September 1997. Return to Text

^[47]  Ayse Zarakolu, conversation with the author, Istanbul, Turkey, July 1995. Return to Text

^[48]  Washington Kurdish Institute, Chronology of Recent Human Rights Persecutions in Turkey (Washington Kurdish Institute, 27 June 1997). Return to Text

^[49]  Press Release, Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, 21 November 1996. Return to Text

^[50]  Representative of Human Rights Association, conversation with the author, Ankara, Turkey, November 1996. Return to Text

^[51]  Human Rights Watch/Helsinki letter to Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, 28 June 1997. Return to Text

^[52]  Imset, "The PKK-Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?" 46. Return to Text

^[53]  See Chrysotomos V. Turkey App. Nos. 15299, 15300 & 153118/89 4/3/91 as cited in Imset, "The PKK-Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?" Return to Text

^[54]  Laurence Lustgarten, David McDowall, and Caroline Nolan, A Fearful Land, Report on a KHRP Fact Finding Mission to South Eastern Turkey, February 5-10, 1996 (Kurdish Human Rights Project, March 1996) 33. Return to Text

^[55]  Amnesty International, Turkey, No Security Without Human Rights. Return to Text