"It will be a completely free trial. Justice is completely free in Turkey."
Turkish Prime Minister Ecevit speaking about the upcoming trial of Abdullah Ocalan -
2/17/99
T U R K E Y T O D
A Y
REPRESSION AND TORTURE REMAIN THE RULE,
NOT THE EXCEPTION
MER - Washington - 20 Feb:
There can and will be no free trial in today's Turkey -- not for Abdullah Ocalan, nor
for anyone else who supports the just Kurdish struggle or the most basic human and
political rights.
Today's "modern" Turkey is a police-state ruled by the brutal militarywith
but a thin veneer of civilian authority and an even thinner veneer of democracy.
Turkey is the land of "Midnight Express" -- that damning movie of the 70s so
condemned by the Turkish authorities then and since.
Turkey is a country where:
* The Kurdish language itself is outlawed.
* The Armenian "genocide" is still denied.
* Journalists are imprisoned for their writings.
* Women students are banned for wearing simple headscarfs.
* Popular political parties are banned.
* And basic Kurdish rights are completely denied at gunpoint.
There should be no doubt about it, though "proof" is not likely and shouldn't
be expected -- the Americans and the Israelis delivered Abdullah Ocalan to the Turks. It
was a payoff. That's what the "Ankara Pact" and the New World Order are all
about in today's Middle East. And make no mistake about it, the American-Israeli-Turkish
alliance is already significantly altering tomorrow's Middle East.
Also remember: Oculan was forced to leave Syria last October because the Turks
threatened a weak and frightened Syria with war if it continued to support the Kurdish
rebellion. It is a threat the Turks, now with ever-stronger American and Israeli backing,
will repeat against any and all so long as their power for repression goes unchecked in
the region. Though Israel always comes first for the Americans, in some crucial ways
Turkey has become the successor state to the Shah's Iran for the American military and
geo-strategists when it comes to keeping the Arabs weak and divided, and the entire region
"under control".
