Dozens of Kurdish mayors stand trial in Turkey on charges of supporting Kurdish guerrillas

The Associated Press

Published: September 26, 2006
ANKARA, Turkey Turkey began trying more than 50 Kurdish mayors Tuesday for allegedly supporting the main outlawed Kurdish guerrilla group by asking Denmark's premier to resist Turkish calls to shut down a Kurdish television station.

Dozens of mayors appeared before the court in Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast, and pleaded innocent to charges of aiding and abetting a terrorist group.

The 56 mayors defended the letter they sent to Denmark's prime minister, saying in a joint statement to the court that it had been an act of "free speech."

"We are standing behind each of the 405 words in our famous letter," Yenisehir Mayor Firat Anli told the court, reading from the five-page statement. "If examined, our letter points to the need for maturity to tolerate opposition to freedom of speech and the establishment of a democratic living system."

The trial — seen as the latest test of freedom of speech in Turkey — is likely to strain relations further with the European Union, which has been pushing the country to strengthen the rights of its Kurdish minority and eliminate limits on free speech.

On Tuesday, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said "I cannot imagine a country which does not respect such a fundamental principle as freedom of expression as an EU member." The EU wants Turkey to change laws that penalize insulting the Turkish Republic, its officials or "Turkishness."

The trial was being monitored by Danish diplomats and human rights activists, and the Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has criticized the mayors' indictment.

For Turkey, the trial revolves around a highly sensitive issue, and comes at a time when the autonomy-seeking Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, has stepped up its bombings and attacks across the country, targeting civilians and tourists as well as troops.

The mayors from the pro-Kurdish Democractic Society Party were indicted after writing a letter to Denmark's Rasmussen asking him to keep the Roj TV station, which is banned in Turkey, on the air in Denmark, despite claims by Turkey that it is a PKK propaganda machine.

Rebel commanders often join the station's broadcasts by satellite telephone from their mountain hideouts in northern Iraq, and the station broadcasts images of rebels training or attacking Turkish soldiers.

The court adjourned the trial until Nov. 21 to determine whether Abdullah Hicap, chairman of the board of Roj TV, had ever faced prosecution in Turkey.

Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir, one of the most influential voices in the Turkish-Kurdish community, said he was prepared to face punishment if convicted. Most of the Kurdish mayors, including Baydemir, already face separate charges for their alleged ties to the rebels.

The country's powerful military is highly suspicious of the Kurdish mayors' affiliation and is critical of their performance. Over the weekend, the military sent dozens of soldiers to the streets of the southeastern city of Hakkari to collect garbage, while a group of people in civilian clothes carried banners reading: "Don't engage in separatism, do your work!"

The PKK has been listed by the European Union and the United States as a terrorist organization.

Danish-Turkish relations have long been strained over Kurdish groups based in Denmark.

In November, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan walked out of a joint press conference with Rasmussen in Denmark because Roj TV journalists were in the audience.

The Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen demanded last year that Denmark revoke the station's broadcasting license. The Danish government has refused to do so, citing freedom of speech. But authorities there are investigating whether the station has any links to the rebels, a claim the station has denied.

Turkey began negotiations a year ago to join the European Union and is under pressure to expand freedom of speech and improve the treatment of its Kurdish minority. Though Ankara has granted some language and other cultural rights, it does not recognize the Kurds as an official minority, and has ruled out any dialogue with the guerrillas.

A Turkish prosecutor demanded 15 years in prison for the mayors in the June indictment.


ANKARA, Turkey Turkey began trying more than 50 Kurdish mayors Tuesday for allegedly supporting the main outlawed Kurdish guerrilla group by asking Denmark's premier to resist Turkish calls to shut down a Kurdish television station.

Dozens of mayors appeared before the court in Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast, and pleaded innocent to charges of aiding and abetting a terrorist group.

The 56 mayors defended the letter they sent to Denmark's prime minister, saying in a joint statement to the court that it had been an act of "free speech."

"We are standing behind each of the 405 words in our famous letter," Yenisehir Mayor Firat Anli told the court, reading from the five-page statement. "If examined, our letter points to the need for maturity to tolerate opposition to freedom of speech and the establishment of a democratic living system."

The trial — seen as the latest test of freedom of speech in Turkey — is likely to strain relations further with the European Union, which has been pushing the country to strengthen the rights of its Kurdish minority and eliminate limits on free speech.

On Tuesday, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said "I cannot imagine a country which does not respect such a fundamental principle as freedom of expression as an EU member." The EU wants Turkey to change laws that penalize insulting the Turkish Republic, its officials or "Turkishness."

The trial was being monitored by Danish diplomats and human rights activists, and the Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has criticized the mayors' indictment.

For Turkey, the trial revolves around a highly sensitive issue, and comes at a time when the autonomy-seeking Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, has stepped up its bombings and attacks across the country, targeting civilians and tourists as well as troops.

The mayors from the pro-Kurdish Democractic Society Party were indicted after writing a letter to Denmark's Rasmussen asking him to keep the Roj TV station, which is banned in Turkey, on the air in Denmark, despite claims by Turkey that it is a PKK propaganda machine.

Rebel commanders often join the station's broadcasts by satellite telephone from their mountain hideouts in northern Iraq, and the station broadcasts images of rebels training or attacking Turkish soldiers.

The court adjourned the trial until Nov. 21 to determine whether Abdullah Hicap, chairman of the board of Roj TV, had ever faced prosecution in Turkey.

Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir, one of the most influential voices in the Turkish-Kurdish community, said he was prepared to face punishment if convicted. Most of the Kurdish mayors, including Baydemir, already face separate charges for their alleged ties to the rebels.

The country's powerful military is highly suspicious of the Kurdish mayors' affiliation and is critical of their performance. Over the weekend, the military sent dozens of soldiers to the streets of the southeastern city of Hakkari to collect garbage, while a group of people in civilian clothes carried banners reading: "Don't engage in separatism, do your work!"

The PKK has been listed by the European Union and the United States as a terrorist organization.

Danish-Turkish relations have long been strained over Kurdish groups based in Denmark.

In November, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan walked out of a joint press conference with Rasmussen in Denmark because Roj TV journalists were in the audience.

The Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen demanded last year that Denmark revoke the station's broadcasting license. The Danish government has refused to do so, citing freedom of speech. But authorities there are investigating whether the station has any links to the rebels, a claim the station has denied.

Turkey began negotiations a year ago to join the European Union and is under pressure to expand freedom of speech and improve the treatment of its Kurdish minority. Though Ankara has granted some language and other cultural rights, it does not recognize the Kurds as an official minority, and has ruled out any dialogue with the guerrillas.

A Turkish prosecutor demanded 15 years in prison for the mayors in the June indictment.


ANKARA, Turkey Turkey began trying more than 50 Kurdish mayors Tuesday for allegedly supporting the main outlawed Kurdish guerrilla group by asking Denmark's premier to resist Turkish calls to shut down a Kurdish television station.

Dozens of mayors appeared before the court in Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast, and pleaded innocent to charges of aiding and abetting a terrorist group.

The 56 mayors defended the letter they sent to Denmark's prime minister, saying in a joint statement to the court that it had been an act of "free speech."

"We are standing behind each of the 405 words in our famous letter," Yenisehir Mayor Firat Anli told the court, reading from the five-page statement. "If examined, our letter points to the need for maturity to tolerate opposition to freedom of speech and the establishment of a democratic living system."

The trial — seen as the latest test of freedom of speech in Turkey — is likely to strain relations further with the European Union, which has been pushing the country to strengthen the rights of its Kurdish minority and eliminate limits on free speech.

On Tuesday, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said "I cannot imagine a country which does not respect such a fundamental principle as freedom of expression as an EU member." The EU wants Turkey to change laws that penalize insulting the Turkish Republic, its officials or "Turkishness."

The trial was being monitored by Danish diplomats and human rights activists, and the Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has criticized the mayors' indictment.

For Turkey, the trial revolves around a highly sensitive issue, and comes at a time when the autonomy-seeking Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, has stepped up its bombings and attacks across the country, targeting civilians and tourists as well as troops.

The mayors from the pro-Kurdish Democractic Society Party were indicted after writing a letter to Denmark's Rasmussen asking him to keep the Roj TV station, which is banned in Turkey, on the air in Denmark, despite claims by Turkey that it is a PKK propaganda machine.

Rebel commanders often join the station's broadcasts by satellite telephone from their mountain hideouts in northern Iraq, and the station broadcasts images of rebels training or attacking Turkish soldiers.

The court adjourned the trial until Nov. 21 to determine whether Abdullah Hicap, chairman of the board of Roj TV, had ever faced prosecution in Turkey.

Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir, one of the most influential voices in the Turkish-Kurdish community, said he was prepared to face punishment if convicted. Most of the Kurdish mayors, including Baydemir, already face separate charges for their alleged ties to the rebels.

The country's powerful military is highly suspicious of the Kurdish mayors' affiliation and is critical of their performance. Over the weekend, the military sent dozens of soldiers to the streets of the southeastern city of Hakkari to collect garbage, while a group of people in civilian clothes carried banners reading: "Don't engage in separatism, do your work!"

The PKK has been listed by the European Union and the United States as a terrorist organization.

Danish-Turkish relations have long been strained over Kurdish groups based in Denmark.

In November, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan walked out of a joint press conference with Rasmussen in Denmark because Roj TV journalists were in the audience.

The Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen demanded last year that Denmark revoke the station's broadcasting license. The Danish government has refused to do so, citing freedom of speech. But authorities there are investigating whether the station has any links to the rebels, a claim the station has denied.

Turkey began negotiations a year ago to join the European Union and is under pressure to expand freedom of speech and improve the treatment of its Kurdish minority. Though Ankara has granted some language and other cultural rights, it does not recognize the Kurds as an official minority, and has ruled out any dialogue with the guerrillas.

A Turkish prosecutor demanded 15 years in prison for the mayors in the June indictment.


ANKARA, Turkey Turkey began trying more than 50 Kurdish mayors Tuesday for allegedly supporting the main outlawed Kurdish guerrilla group by asking Denmark's premier to resist Turkish calls to shut down a Kurdish television station.

Dozens of mayors appeared before the court in Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast, and pleaded innocent to charges of aiding and abetting a terrorist group.

The 56 mayors defended the letter they sent to Denmark's prime minister, saying in a joint statement to the court that it had been an act of "free speech."

"We are standing behind each of the 405 words in our famous letter," Yenisehir Mayor Firat Anli told the court, reading from the five-page statement. "If examined, our letter points to the need for maturity to tolerate opposition to freedom of speech and the establishment of a democratic living system."

The trial — seen as the latest test of freedom of speech in Turkey — is likely to strain relations further with the European Union, which has been pushing the country to strengthen the rights of its Kurdish minority and eliminate limits on free speech.

On Tuesday, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said "I cannot imagine a country which does not respect such a fundamental principle as freedom of expression as an EU member." The EU wants Turkey to change laws that penalize insulting the Turkish Republic, its officials or "Turkishness."

The trial was being monitored by Danish diplomats and human rights activists, and the Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has criticized the mayors' indictment.

For Turkey, the trial revolves around a highly sensitive issue, and comes at a time when the autonomy-seeking Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, has stepped up its bombings and attacks across the country, targeting civilians and tourists as well as troops.

The mayors from the pro-Kurdish Democractic Society Party were indicted after writing a letter to Denmark's Rasmussen asking him to keep the Roj TV station, which is banned in Turkey, on the air in Denmark, despite claims by Turkey that it is a PKK propaganda machine.

Rebel commanders often join the station's broadcasts by satellite telephone from their mountain hideouts in northern Iraq, and the station broadcasts images of rebels training or attacking Turkish soldiers.

The court adjourned the trial until Nov. 21 to determine whether Abdullah Hicap, chairman of the board of Roj TV, had ever faced prosecution in Turkey.

Diyarbakir Mayor Osman Baydemir, one of the most influential voices in the Turkish-Kurdish community, said he was prepared to face punishment if convicted. Most of the Kurdish mayors, including Baydemir, already face separate charges for their alleged ties to the rebels.

The country's powerful military is highly suspicious of the Kurdish mayors' affiliation and is critical of their performance. Over the weekend, the military sent dozens of soldiers to the streets of the southeastern city of Hakkari to collect garbage, while a group of people in civilian clothes carried banners reading: "Don't engage in separatism, do your work!"

The PKK has been listed by the European Union and the United States as a terrorist organization.

Danish-Turkish relations have long been strained over Kurdish groups based in Denmark.

In November, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan walked out of a joint press conference with Rasmussen in Denmark because Roj TV journalists were in the audience.

The Turkish Embassy in Copenhagen demanded last year that Denmark revoke the station's broadcasting license. The Danish government has refused to do so, citing freedom of speech. But authorities there are investigating whether the station has any links to the rebels, a claim the station has denied.

Turkey began negotiations a year ago to join the European Union and is under pressure to expand freedom of speech and improve the treatment of its Kurdish minority. Though Ankara has granted some language and other cultural rights, it does not recognize the Kurds as an official minority, and has ruled out any dialogue with the guerrillas.

A Turkish prosecutor demanded 15 years in prison for the mayors in the June indictment.