Submitted by Canada IFP, 2007-06-19
The United States and its allies are killing Iraqi civilians, stealing Iraq's oil and destroying the nation's heritage with total impunity, according to a report released jointly today by 30 NGOs which concluded that The US Coalition is the principal cause of Iraq’s current ills.
The 117-page War and Occupation in Iraq reveals that the US has established broad legal immunity in Iraq for its military forces, for private security personnel, for foreign military and civilian contractors, and even for the oil companies doing business with Iraq and that no matter what crimes the Coalition commits, Iraqis now or in the future face legal barriers if they seek accountability.
US Presidential Executive Order 13303, Order 17 of the Coalition Provisional Authority, and other official dicta, shield foreign military personnel from arrest, detention, prosecution or punishment. While the US and its allies have applied limited legal reckoning in a few flagrant cases that became known to the public, punishment has been light and those with command responsibility have remained beyond the law, the report finds.
"There is an increasing air war that results in heavy casualties as well as the daily killing of civilians at checkpoints, during house searches, by snipers, and by ground bombardment," James Paul, executive director of the co-publisher Global Policy Forum, said. "Nearly a million Iraqis have died due to the effects of the occupation and 4 million have fled from their homes. A dozen cities have been destroyed by U.S. attacks."
"Under the control or influence of US authorities, public funds in Iraq have been drained by massive corruption and stolen oil, leaving the country unable to provide basic services and incapable of rebuilding," he added. "The US government has repeatedly violated many international laws, but top officials reject any accountability."
The study documents how the US and its allies ignored the warnings of organizations and scholars concerning the protection of Iraq’s cultural heritage, including museums, libraries, archaeological sites and other precious repositories.
It also highlights the US Coalition forces' use of indiscriminate and especially injurious weapons that are banned by international convention or widely considered unacceptable and inhuman, including a napalm-type incendiary weapon as well as white phosphorous munitions, the latter against ground targets in densely populated areas.
More than thirty thousand detainees lack fundamental rights and they are kept in deplorable physical conditions, many for long periods. US commanders have turned over thousands of detainees to Iraqi authorities whose prisons seriously violate human rights standards, according to the report.
The authors describe how US Coalition forces have attacked and destroyed a number of important Iraqi cities, on grounds that they were “insurgent strongholds.”
A more serious allegation made by the NGOs is that US and its allies regularly kill Iraqi civilians at checkpoints and during military operations, on the basis of the merest suspicion.
The report also draws attention to the plight of Iraqi refugees and internally displaces persons, and the high levels of mortality recorded in the country due to deteriorating health services.
The study provides evidence on how, under the control or influence of US authorities, public funds in Iraq have been drained by massive corruption and stolen oil, leaving the country unable to provide basic services and incapable of rebuilding.
"Those that understate the violence of the occupation make U.S. forces look like the solution, when in fact they are a large part of the problem," Celine Nahory, Security Council Program Coordinator at Global Policy Forum and a co-author of the report, said. "Even polls by the US and UK governments show a large majority of Iraqis want a speedy withdrawal of occupation forces."
The report recommends the speedy withdrawal of the US Coalition forces as the only solution to the Iraqi crisis. It also calls for the Security Council to end the Coalition mandate at the earliest opportunity and plan for a stable transition in Iraq, respecting international law and introduce a A UN peacekeeping force, clearly distinct from the Coalition, to assist with the transition, by monitoring the ceasefire, strengthening local police forces and the judicial system, and organizing fully-credible elections.
June 2007
Click here for the FULL REPORT
Note that all chapters are linked separately below.
Executive Summary [Read] [French]
Map of Major Coalition Attacks, Bases and Prisons [See map]
Political Map of Iraq [See map]
1. Introduction [Read]
2. Destruction of Cultural Heritage [Read]
3. Indiscriminate and Especially Injurious Weapons [Read]
4. Unlawful Detention [Read]
5. Abuse and Torture of Prisoners [Read]
6. Attacks on Cities [Read]
7. Killing Civilians, Murder and Atrocities [Read]
8. Displacement and Mortality [Read]
9. Corruption, Fraud and Gross Malfeasance [Read]
10. Long-Term Bases and the New Embassy Compound [Read]
11. Other Issues [Read]
- Iraqi Public Opinion and the Occupation - Cost of the War and Occupation
12. Conclusion and Recommendations [Read]
More Information on Iraq
mardi 19 juin 2007
IN MEMORIAM...
AP Photo / Karim Kadim IN MEMORIAM OF A LITTLE ANGEL KILLED BY THE U.S. FORCES
lest we forget
Mohammed Saleem, 18 months old, and four family members were killed when U.S. forces opened fire on their vehicle in Baghdad’s Sadr City neighborhood in June 2004 during fighting between Americans and followers of Moqtada al-Sadr
ITC lideri Sadettin Ergeç Ankara'da
ITC Başkanı Ankara'daIrak Türkmen Cephesi Başkanı Doktor Sadettin Ergeç, çeşitli temaslarda bulunmak üzere Türkiye'nin başkenti Ankara'ya gitti. Sadettin Ergeç'i ve beraberindeki heyeti, ITC Türkiye Temsilcisi ve yetkilileri Esenboğa havaalanında karşıladılar. Irak Türkmen Cephesi lideri Sadettin Ergeç, Esenboğa havaalanında gazetecilerin sorularını yanıtladı.Irak'ta ve Kerkük'te yaşanan son olaylar hakkında bilgi aktaran Sadettin Ergeç, "Bizler Kerkük'ümüz için çalışıyoruz, herkes çalışsın, her şeyin daha da güzel olmasını diliyoruz" dedi. Sadettin Ergeç, Ankara'da Türk ve Türkmen yetkililerle bir araya gelerek durum değerlendirmesi yapması bekleniyor.
lundi 18 juin 2007
AMERICA, BRITAIN AND AUSTRALIA - WHERE IS YOUR HUMANITY?
Ramzi Haidar/AFP/GettyDamascus, SYRIA: An Iraqi refugee shows his passport as he waits in queue to register at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) center in the Damascus suburb of Duma
Americans, Brits, Australians
Where is your Conscience?
Where is your Humanity?
If you really care about Human Rights act now, put real pressure on your political leaders and force them to put an end to the humiliation, the suffering and the genocide of the people of Iraq!
Act now, inundate your politicians with letters and telephone calls demanding the withdrawal of your troops from Iraq, refuse to pay your taxes, denounce the crimes of your leaders, call for a general strike! But for God's sake DO SOMETHING! Prove that there is some humanity left in you, that you are not merely spectators of a GENOCIDE which is taking place in Iraq and for which your 'democratically elected governments ' bear the entire responsibility.
Your military and mercenaries continue to destroy an entire country, they are causing the death of thousands of innocent people.
Someone said that what is taking place in Iraq is a man-made Tsunami. Indeed, it is a US-UK-AUSTRALIAN made Tsunami, a crime against humanity committed by YOUR governments in a country which is the cradle of civilization on a people who never posed a threat to you or harmed you in any way.
Iraq has become a HELL, Iraqis have become refugees, trying to escape the chaos your governments have brought to their country.
Don't you care? Don't their cries and tears haunt your dreams yet?
Fleeing Iraq
http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/3241/Refugees_Must_Choose_Either_Jordan_or_Syria
Refugees Must Choose Either Jordan or Syria
Turned Away at One Border, Family Makes Long Trip to Other Neighboring Country
BAGHDAD, 17 June 2007 (IRIN) - Scores of Iraqi men, women and children gathered on the pavement of Baghdad's central Salihiyah area waiting for the big grey bus to take them to neighbouring Syria and help them flee their country's violence. "Staying in Iraq is like committing suicide," said Hala Numan Jabre, a 41-year-old mother of three girls as she threw her six coloured bags onto the bus. "There is no safe life in Iraq, it's like a jungle. There are no public services, there is no rule of law, and everywhere there is killing and kidnapping. That is why we've decided to take our daughters away until things get better, God willing," Hala, a teacher of English, said.
http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/3241/Refugees_Must_Choose_Either_Jordan_or_Syria
Refugees Must Choose Either Jordan or Syria
Turned Away at One Border, Family Makes Long Trip to Other Neighboring Country
BAGHDAD, 17 June 2007 (IRIN) - Scores of Iraqi men, women and children gathered on the pavement of Baghdad's central Salihiyah area waiting for the big grey bus to take them to neighbouring Syria and help them flee their country's violence. "Staying in Iraq is like committing suicide," said Hala Numan Jabre, a 41-year-old mother of three girls as she threw her six coloured bags onto the bus. "There is no safe life in Iraq, it's like a jungle. There are no public services, there is no rule of law, and everywhere there is killing and kidnapping. That is why we've decided to take our daughters away until things get better, God willing," Hala, a teacher of English, said.
Every month, tens of thousands of Iraqis flee to Jordan and Syria - the only two neighbouring countries which have opened their borders to Iraqi refugees. "The situation in Iraq continues to worsen," the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said in a statement on 5 June, and "the number of Iraqis fleeing to neighbouring countries remains high”.
At least 2.2 million Iraqis are sheltering in Jordan and Syria. Other countries with common borders with Iraq - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey and Iran - have allowed in very few Iraqis.
Early this year, the UNHCR called for international support to help Jordan and Syria cope with the influx of Iraqi refugees. "Calls for increased international support for governments in the region have so far had few results," the UNHCR added.
Syria, Jordan impose restrictions.
Since then, new entry and residency conditions have been imposed in Jordan and Syria, resulting in tens of thousands of refugees being stranded on Iraq's borders and families being divided according to their age and the type of passport they hold.
To enter Jordan, Iraqi refugees must be over 40 or under 20, must prove they have sufficient funds to support themselves in the kingdom and, most importantly, must hold a new 'G' generation passport. "Going to Amman is like gambling," said Ammar Yassin Khalid, a 22-year-old student at the University of Baghdad who was denied entry four months ago as he had the older 'S' series passport. Now, Khalid has his new 'G' series passport after paying US$400 in bribes.
Nasser Hikmat Jaafar's family was disappointed when half his family was denied entry to Jordan. They reached the border with the Kingdom on 11 June at sunset after having driven about 900km from Baghdad. "They allowed entry just for my wife and two daughters and denied me and my three sons. They didn't tell us the reasons, but just said they are fed up with men of such ages ," Jaafar, a 58-year-old government employee, told IRIN on 14 June as he was heading with all his family to the Syrian border, which is about 500km from Iraq’s Jordanian border.
"We spent last night at the border. My wife and daughters slept inside the GMC suburban we are hiring and me, my three sons and the driver slept on the pavement," he added. "I can't leave my daughters and wife alone so I'm taking them to Syria instead where entry for Iraqis is still easy."
Entering Syria is easier but residency conditions have been imposed: Refugees can stay a maximum of three months and then they have to renew their residency by leaving the country and returning. "What can we do? Leaving Iraq is a must for us and we have to accept their rules as we have no other choice," said Yahya Hassan, a 38-year-old supermarket owner who was kidnapped two weeks ago and freed after paying a ransom of $50,000. "If we stay in Iraq we will definitely be killed.
Outside we will suffer but at least we will feel safe and secure," Hassan said as he queued with his children to get the bus to Syria.
Citing Iraqi government figures, the UNHCR said some 1.4 million Iraqis are now in Syria, up to 750,000 in Jordan, 80,000 in Egypt and some 200,000 in the Gulf region. Syria alone receives a minimum of 30,000 Iraqis a month, according to the agency.
Resettlement of most vulnerable refugees
According to UNHCR spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis, since the beginning of the year, UNHCR offices in countries around Iraq have registered more than 130,000 Iraqi refugees. By the end of May, they had interviewed some 7,000 of the most vulnerable Iraqis and sent their dossiers to potential resettlement countries. "The UNHCR urged these countries to make rapid decisions and facilitate the departure of those most in need.
Resettlement, however, remains an option for only a few of the most vulnerable Iraqis. UNHCR's goal is to provide up to 20,000 Iraqi resettlement cases to governments this year," Pagonis said.
The UNHCR statement said in Syria alone about 47,000 of the 88,447 refugees registered since the beginning of 2007 are in need of special assistance. Of them, about a quarter require legal or protection assistance, including many victims of torture; about 19 percent have serious medical conditions.
The UNHCR statement added that the number of Iraqis accepted for residence in various countries outside the Middle East, particularly in Europe, remained low.
dimanche 17 juin 2007
FLEH DWAY MEGTHAB, Managing Editor of al-Sabah newspaper assassinated
Baghdad, Jun 17, (VOI) –The body of al-Sabah newspaper's managing editor, Fleh Dway Megthab, was found in Baghdad's forensic department, four days after his abduction by unidentified gunmen from his house in Baghdad's al-Habebiya neighborhood, a source from al-Sabah newspaper said on Sunday.
"The body of Fleh Dway was found on Sunday in Baghdad's morgue with bullet shots to the head," the source, who refused to have his name mentioned, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Dway was kidnapped on Wednesday morning while leaving his house, along with his son, in al-Habebiya neighborhood in eastern Baghdad. Three civilians vehicles intercepted Dway's car and took him captive.
Dway, 53, worked for several media institutions, the latest of which was the daily al-Sabah newspaper, issued by the government-funded Iraqi Media Network.
On Friday, the Journalist Freedoms Observatory (JFO) called on the kidnappers to release Dway and urged the Iraqi security apparatus to launch an immediate investigation into the incident.
"The body of Fleh Dway was found on Sunday in Baghdad's morgue with bullet shots to the head," the source, who refused to have his name mentioned, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Dway was kidnapped on Wednesday morning while leaving his house, along with his son, in al-Habebiya neighborhood in eastern Baghdad. Three civilians vehicles intercepted Dway's car and took him captive.
Dway, 53, worked for several media institutions, the latest of which was the daily al-Sabah newspaper, issued by the government-funded Iraqi Media Network.
On Friday, the Journalist Freedoms Observatory (JFO) called on the kidnappers to release Dway and urged the Iraqi security apparatus to launch an immediate investigation into the incident.
Remains of thirteen members of Iraqi Tae Kwon Do National Team found
Wathiq Khuzaie/Getty Images BAGHDAD, IRAQ - JUNE 16: Iraqis gather around coffins containing the remains of members of the Iraqi Tae Kwon Do National Team as picture of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is seen June 16, 2007 in the Sadr city neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq.
Thirteen decomposed bodies of members of the Iraqi Tae Kwon Do National Team who were abducted last year were discovered west of Baghdad.
samedi 16 juin 2007
The PKK: A Privileged Terrorist Organization?
By Sedat Laciner
The PKK is a Kurdist and separatist terrorist organization. The U.S. and E.U. laws say that it is a terrorist organization. According to the British MI5 reports, it is one of the bloodiest terrorist organizations in the world. It means that there is no difference between Al Qaeda and the PKK before the Western legal system.
However the PKK has armed terror bases in Iraq under American occupation and propaganda offices in many E.U. capitals. The terrorist organization is probably the only terrorist organization that has satellite TV channel. The PKK’s Roj TV has been broadcasting from Denmark. It uses the Hotbird satellite. France and the UK had banned the previous PKK channels (MED and MEDYA TVs) after Turkey’s years-long struggle. Furthermore, the PKK controls the drug business and human trafficking in Europe, and all the money comes from this illegal business goes to the so-called media institutions. The PKK media in European countries make money-laundering, and the organization uses all this sources to finance its activities.
The PKK has offices in Denmark, Belgium and in many other Western European cities. The US officials openly blamed the EU states of allowing the PKK propaganda activities in their countries. Kurt Volker, the deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs in the U.S. State Department, said last year that media channels belonging to the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) in Europe should be declared part of terrorist organizations and must be closed down. Delivering a speech at a U.S. House of Representatives meeting discussing emerging threats in Europe, Volker labeled the PKK a threat to Europe's security.
When we look at the past, we see that the PKK has always been a privileged terrorist organization in Europe. Greece and the Greek Cyprus openly supported the PKK activities in the past: When the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was captured in the Greek Embassy in Kenya, a Greek Cypriot passport was found on him. The official documents vividly show that the Greece and Cyprus Greeks financed many PKK activities and they gave great political support to PKK terrorism.
When the Syrians deported the head of the PKK terrorists, Abdullah Ocalan traveled many European states, including Russia, Greece and Italy. Many European politicians, including Germans, Italians, British and French, openly visited him though their own laws named Abdullah Ocalan as terrorist. When Ocalan arrived in Rome on November 12, 1998 traveling on a false passport, he was arrested. However he was never seen as a ‘real terrorist’ by the Italian authorities. For the ordinary Turks, the Italians simply protected him. They even did not fulfill what the Italian laws said.
Ocalan requested that Rome grant him political asylum, and Italy did not know what to do with a terrorist. Now we see that the Turkish people never forget the Italians’ strange attitude towards one of the bloodiest terrorist in the world. Ocalan was not only a leader of the PKK. He had ordered and personally committed many murders and even massacres. His targets were not only the Turks but Kurds and even the not-loyal PKK members. There are hundreds of eye-witnesses for his individual murder crimes.
Italian courts have ruled that, despite an existing international arrest warrant issued, Ocalan cannot be extradited to Turkey because the death penalty could be applied in his case, despite Ankara’s moves to remove capital punishment. This was the source of the great Turkish anger against Italy. Italy could put Ocalan to an Italian court, because he was a terrorist according to the Italian and EU laws as well. Yet the Rome Government could not dare to do as well.
Germany had an existing arrest warrant for Ocalan, and Turkey hinted that it would accept a solution where Germany would try Ocalan. But the German government decided it did not want him both out of fear of terrorism and because of likely clashes between the Turkish and PKK militants in Germany. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder declared, "We decided to protect the peace of Germany." Germans preferred not to combat against terrorism. It meant that they only considered peace in Germany and they did not give importance to peace in Turkey.
Thus the German Government, in spite of the existing arrest warrant for Ocalan and existing laws considering PKK as a terrorist organization, did not put Ocalan to a German court.
Strangely Italian and German politicians argue that the both countries courts are independent and they have no tool to intervene their legal system. However we saw in the Ocalan case that both countries courts did what their Government wanted.
German and Italian officials adopted the argument that an International Court should try Ocalan, ignoring the absence of an international body with the jurisdiction to try an individual like Ocalan. Italy could try Ocalan under existing anti-terrorism treaties, but Rome shown no interest in doing so.
Ocalan was one of the most significant terrorist leaders in the world, with a legacy of untold carnage to his name. And he has lost his international backing, which is, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the condition that allows terrorism to flourish. Yet as Tzvi Fleischer put it, “the response of both Italy and Germany was to do their best to make the problem go away, fear of revenge being their reason to avoid responsibilities they have under international anti-terrorism agreements”. (1)
Ocalan then visited Greece and no Greek authorities captured or arrested him. The next stop was Russia and the Russians, who always complaining from terrorism, did nothing to arrest him.
Finally Ocalan was captured in Kenya, Africa. He was in a Greek Embassy and his passport from Greek Cyprus. Turkish special team was assisted by the Americans and all of the Turkish media underlined the American assistance in capturing Abdullah Ocalan.
The Washington clearly accused the EU states on handling the Ocalan case. The Turkish public has never forgotten the EU’s and the US’ stance towards the PKK and Ocalan.
* American Double Standard?
The American assistance in combating PKK made Bill Clinton the most popular American president in Turkey. The situation has shifted dramatically after the Iraq War. The PKK, which was on the US’ and EU’s terrorist organization list, established many terrorist camps in Northern Iraq.
The US authorities first promised to remove all these camps when they invaded Iraq. Iraq was their responsibility and removal of the terrorists, including the PKK, was their one of the foremost tasks.
However, the Americans simply ignored the PKK terrorists for the past years. The PKK established training camps, armed bases etc. They established logistic stores. They collected ‘donations’, bought arms. The drug smuggling and human trafficking were continued as financial sources of the PKK. Money went to the European PKK propaganda network and terrorist activities in Turkey. In 4 years the PKK reached 3.000-armed-terrorists under the American and local Kurdish protection.
The local Kurdish political groups, namely Barzani and Talabani groups, saw the PKK as guarantee of their independence. Turkey was seen as the only country could prevent Kurdish independent state in Iraq and as far as Turkey was busy in struggling against the PKK terrorism, Turks were not able to involve the Iraqi policies.
Both the neo-cons and the Kurdist groups in Iraq prevent Turkish approach in Iraq. Turkey was kept away from the Iraq policies. While the cost of the Iraqi occupation for the US has rocketed, Turkey has suffered from the PKK terrorism. The PKK used Iraqi territories to attack Turkish territories. The local Kurds and the US have done almost nothing to stop the PKK terrorists.
Nowadays the American diplomats in Ankara hint that the US authorities did not promised to remove the PKK camps, which is not true. Imagine the American diplomats are right: American President Bush, Secretary of State Rice, former secretor of State Powell and many other Americans did not promise to remove the terrorist camps from Iraq. As a matter of fact, this would be the worse than unfulfilled promises.
The PKK camps in Iraq have undermined Turkey-US relations. The U.S.A.K. Survey showed the damage: According to the Survey, 74 % of the Turks saw the existence of the PKK camps in Iraq as the ‘thorniest problem’ in US - Turkey relations. The US and Turkey are NATO allies and have been strategic allies since the end of the Second World War. Turkish people have all the rights to expect from the US to remove the terrorist camps from Iraq. At least the US has to demilitarize the PKK militants as it demilitarized the anti-Iranian groups in Iraq.
***
To make it clearer let’s make comparison: If Turkey acted against the terrorist as the EU and the US today do, the Al Qaeda would have a satellite TV station broadcasting from Ankara to Western Europe and Northern America. This Al Qaeda channel would encourage violence in the West and always call for terrorist attacks against the Western targets. Turkey, in response to the Western governments would have said that Turkey was a democratic country and the Al Qaeda TV station should be considered under the free speech principle.
If Turkey acted against the terrorist as the EU and the US today do, all of the radical Islamist terror organizations would have terrorist camps in Istanbul or in Izmir operating terrorist activities against Greece or France. If Turkey acted against the terrorist as the EU and the US today do, the IRA, ETA and all other terrorist organizations would have offices in Ankara and they would declare war against the US, UK or Spain. If Turkey acted against the terrorist as the EU and the US today do, Ankara Government would have allowed the terrorist organization to collect donations, to make drug smuggling and money laundering in Turkey. If Turkey acted against the terrorist as the US today do, all Iraqi insurgents had camps in Turkey and they would use Turkish territories to attack the American targets…
NOTES:
(1) Tzvi Fleischer, “Apo-calypse Now, What can you do with a problem like Abdullah?”, AIJAC, 4 - 31 December 1998,
JTW
Sedat LACINER, PhD: Director, International Strategic Research Organization (USAK - ISRO) & 2006 Davos Economic Forum Young Global Leader
Copyright © 2005 Journal of Turkish Weekly http://www.turkishweekly.net/comments.php?id=2633
The PKK is a Kurdist and separatist terrorist organization. The U.S. and E.U. laws say that it is a terrorist organization. According to the British MI5 reports, it is one of the bloodiest terrorist organizations in the world. It means that there is no difference between Al Qaeda and the PKK before the Western legal system.
However the PKK has armed terror bases in Iraq under American occupation and propaganda offices in many E.U. capitals. The terrorist organization is probably the only terrorist organization that has satellite TV channel. The PKK’s Roj TV has been broadcasting from Denmark. It uses the Hotbird satellite. France and the UK had banned the previous PKK channels (MED and MEDYA TVs) after Turkey’s years-long struggle. Furthermore, the PKK controls the drug business and human trafficking in Europe, and all the money comes from this illegal business goes to the so-called media institutions. The PKK media in European countries make money-laundering, and the organization uses all this sources to finance its activities.
The PKK has offices in Denmark, Belgium and in many other Western European cities. The US officials openly blamed the EU states of allowing the PKK propaganda activities in their countries. Kurt Volker, the deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs in the U.S. State Department, said last year that media channels belonging to the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) in Europe should be declared part of terrorist organizations and must be closed down. Delivering a speech at a U.S. House of Representatives meeting discussing emerging threats in Europe, Volker labeled the PKK a threat to Europe's security.
When we look at the past, we see that the PKK has always been a privileged terrorist organization in Europe. Greece and the Greek Cyprus openly supported the PKK activities in the past: When the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was captured in the Greek Embassy in Kenya, a Greek Cypriot passport was found on him. The official documents vividly show that the Greece and Cyprus Greeks financed many PKK activities and they gave great political support to PKK terrorism.
When the Syrians deported the head of the PKK terrorists, Abdullah Ocalan traveled many European states, including Russia, Greece and Italy. Many European politicians, including Germans, Italians, British and French, openly visited him though their own laws named Abdullah Ocalan as terrorist. When Ocalan arrived in Rome on November 12, 1998 traveling on a false passport, he was arrested. However he was never seen as a ‘real terrorist’ by the Italian authorities. For the ordinary Turks, the Italians simply protected him. They even did not fulfill what the Italian laws said.
Ocalan requested that Rome grant him political asylum, and Italy did not know what to do with a terrorist. Now we see that the Turkish people never forget the Italians’ strange attitude towards one of the bloodiest terrorist in the world. Ocalan was not only a leader of the PKK. He had ordered and personally committed many murders and even massacres. His targets were not only the Turks but Kurds and even the not-loyal PKK members. There are hundreds of eye-witnesses for his individual murder crimes.
Italian courts have ruled that, despite an existing international arrest warrant issued, Ocalan cannot be extradited to Turkey because the death penalty could be applied in his case, despite Ankara’s moves to remove capital punishment. This was the source of the great Turkish anger against Italy. Italy could put Ocalan to an Italian court, because he was a terrorist according to the Italian and EU laws as well. Yet the Rome Government could not dare to do as well.
Germany had an existing arrest warrant for Ocalan, and Turkey hinted that it would accept a solution where Germany would try Ocalan. But the German government decided it did not want him both out of fear of terrorism and because of likely clashes between the Turkish and PKK militants in Germany. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder declared, "We decided to protect the peace of Germany." Germans preferred not to combat against terrorism. It meant that they only considered peace in Germany and they did not give importance to peace in Turkey.
Thus the German Government, in spite of the existing arrest warrant for Ocalan and existing laws considering PKK as a terrorist organization, did not put Ocalan to a German court.
Strangely Italian and German politicians argue that the both countries courts are independent and they have no tool to intervene their legal system. However we saw in the Ocalan case that both countries courts did what their Government wanted.
German and Italian officials adopted the argument that an International Court should try Ocalan, ignoring the absence of an international body with the jurisdiction to try an individual like Ocalan. Italy could try Ocalan under existing anti-terrorism treaties, but Rome shown no interest in doing so.
Ocalan was one of the most significant terrorist leaders in the world, with a legacy of untold carnage to his name. And he has lost his international backing, which is, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the condition that allows terrorism to flourish. Yet as Tzvi Fleischer put it, “the response of both Italy and Germany was to do their best to make the problem go away, fear of revenge being their reason to avoid responsibilities they have under international anti-terrorism agreements”. (1)
Ocalan then visited Greece and no Greek authorities captured or arrested him. The next stop was Russia and the Russians, who always complaining from terrorism, did nothing to arrest him.
Finally Ocalan was captured in Kenya, Africa. He was in a Greek Embassy and his passport from Greek Cyprus. Turkish special team was assisted by the Americans and all of the Turkish media underlined the American assistance in capturing Abdullah Ocalan.
The Washington clearly accused the EU states on handling the Ocalan case. The Turkish public has never forgotten the EU’s and the US’ stance towards the PKK and Ocalan.
* American Double Standard?
The American assistance in combating PKK made Bill Clinton the most popular American president in Turkey. The situation has shifted dramatically after the Iraq War. The PKK, which was on the US’ and EU’s terrorist organization list, established many terrorist camps in Northern Iraq.
The US authorities first promised to remove all these camps when they invaded Iraq. Iraq was their responsibility and removal of the terrorists, including the PKK, was their one of the foremost tasks.
However, the Americans simply ignored the PKK terrorists for the past years. The PKK established training camps, armed bases etc. They established logistic stores. They collected ‘donations’, bought arms. The drug smuggling and human trafficking were continued as financial sources of the PKK. Money went to the European PKK propaganda network and terrorist activities in Turkey. In 4 years the PKK reached 3.000-armed-terrorists under the American and local Kurdish protection.
The local Kurdish political groups, namely Barzani and Talabani groups, saw the PKK as guarantee of their independence. Turkey was seen as the only country could prevent Kurdish independent state in Iraq and as far as Turkey was busy in struggling against the PKK terrorism, Turks were not able to involve the Iraqi policies.
Both the neo-cons and the Kurdist groups in Iraq prevent Turkish approach in Iraq. Turkey was kept away from the Iraq policies. While the cost of the Iraqi occupation for the US has rocketed, Turkey has suffered from the PKK terrorism. The PKK used Iraqi territories to attack Turkish territories. The local Kurds and the US have done almost nothing to stop the PKK terrorists.
Nowadays the American diplomats in Ankara hint that the US authorities did not promised to remove the PKK camps, which is not true. Imagine the American diplomats are right: American President Bush, Secretary of State Rice, former secretor of State Powell and many other Americans did not promise to remove the terrorist camps from Iraq. As a matter of fact, this would be the worse than unfulfilled promises.
The PKK camps in Iraq have undermined Turkey-US relations. The U.S.A.K. Survey showed the damage: According to the Survey, 74 % of the Turks saw the existence of the PKK camps in Iraq as the ‘thorniest problem’ in US - Turkey relations. The US and Turkey are NATO allies and have been strategic allies since the end of the Second World War. Turkish people have all the rights to expect from the US to remove the terrorist camps from Iraq. At least the US has to demilitarize the PKK militants as it demilitarized the anti-Iranian groups in Iraq.
***
To make it clearer let’s make comparison: If Turkey acted against the terrorist as the EU and the US today do, the Al Qaeda would have a satellite TV station broadcasting from Ankara to Western Europe and Northern America. This Al Qaeda channel would encourage violence in the West and always call for terrorist attacks against the Western targets. Turkey, in response to the Western governments would have said that Turkey was a democratic country and the Al Qaeda TV station should be considered under the free speech principle.
If Turkey acted against the terrorist as the EU and the US today do, all of the radical Islamist terror organizations would have terrorist camps in Istanbul or in Izmir operating terrorist activities against Greece or France. If Turkey acted against the terrorist as the EU and the US today do, the IRA, ETA and all other terrorist organizations would have offices in Ankara and they would declare war against the US, UK or Spain. If Turkey acted against the terrorist as the EU and the US today do, Ankara Government would have allowed the terrorist organization to collect donations, to make drug smuggling and money laundering in Turkey. If Turkey acted against the terrorist as the US today do, all Iraqi insurgents had camps in Turkey and they would use Turkish territories to attack the American targets…
NOTES:
(1) Tzvi Fleischer, “Apo-calypse Now, What can you do with a problem like Abdullah?”, AIJAC, 4 - 31 December 1998,
JTW
Sedat LACINER, PhD: Director, International Strategic Research Organization (USAK - ISRO) & 2006 Davos Economic Forum Young Global Leader
Copyright © 2005 Journal of Turkish Weekly http://www.turkishweekly.net/comments.php?id=2633
vendredi 15 juin 2007
Report from KERKUK
Kerkuk Assembly member Mr. Ali Mehdi met in his office on 13th June 2007 with Mrs. Elison Camp, the Consul General of the United Kingdom in northern Iraq. The issues related to Kerkuk and its future have been discussed.
Mrs. Elison Camp stated that the Government of the United Kingdom is supporting the implementation of the referendum in Kerkuk; however the remaining time seems not enough to conclude it. She said the proper steps are to be taken in this regard and the United Nations could be involved in consultancy basis.
Mr. Ali Mehdi asked her about the timing. She answered that there are sources in Baghdad, which suggest five years and Turkey is talking about 15 years, but she said that they support an earlier solution provided that this solution is for the sake of everybody.
During this meeting, Mr. Ali Mehdi explained the view of the Turkmen citizens in Kerkuk. He said that the Kurdish parties, namely KDP and PUK are pretending that Article 140 is a 'Kurdish matter'.
The normalization is meant to be just for those who have lost their properties and not for the hundreds of thousands who have been brought in Kerkuk to change the ethnic composition of the city.
Mr. Ali Mehdi added that he had submitted fair and concrete suggestions to solve this issue, but that these have been ignored completely by the Kurds.
Mr. Ali Mehdi added that he had submitted fair and concrete suggestions to solve this issue, but that these have been ignored completely by the Kurds.
He said that the best solution is to keep Kerkuk as a private region, where all ethnic groups are represented in equal way. This solution is for the benefit of Iraq and this is the reason why Turkmens refuse the referendum.
Turkmens urge the government of the United Kingdom to discuss this matter and organize conferences where ALL the ethnic groups of Kerkuk are represented.
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