FBIS4-44250
"drweu124_q_94010"
FBIS-WEU-94-124
Daily Report
21 Jun 1994
TURKEY
Situation of Kurdish Refugees in Iraq Detailed
Situation of Kurdish Refugees in Iraq Detailed
NC2406170794 Ankara TURKISH DAILY NEWS in English 21 Jun 94
p B1
NC2406170794
Ankara TURKISH DAILY NEWS
English
BFN
[Report by Galip Ridvanoglu]
[Text] Diyarbakir-The two, Khaki colored, convertible Land
Rovers sped past our bus heading towards Mardin. Four villagers
were seated on top of one of the vehicles among heavily armed
gendarmerie soldiers. As we watched them go by we noticed their
hands were tied behind their backs. But they could not see us,
for their eyes were covered with rags. Blindfolded, they were
clearly being taken for interrogation.
Heading towards one of the seven makeshift refugee camps set
up in northern Iraq to accommodate some 12,000 refugees, our
group which was escorting a delegation from the Turkish Human
rights Association was constantly accompanied by the sound of
blasts coming down from the mountains.
Explosions could be heard from miles away, signalling a new
operation. Perhaps there will a new communique from the
Governor's office on yet another victory against militants of
the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The explosions, however, are also being attributed to other
things. At the Association branch office in Diyarbakir, a wall
gazette is full of pictures. Pictures of burned down and
destroyed houses. Pictures of civilians with bodies covered
with bruises and burn marks.
Asking the local activists on what they are, we get a blunt
reply, "the houses are those which have been destroyed by
security forces. The people are those who have been tortured."
About 12,000 people living along the border have already fled
into northern Iraq where they are scattered in seven separate
camps. Everyone is scared.
Among the scared are human rights activists. Association
Chairman Akin Birdal suggests we move together and eat in the
same place. "To avoid mystery killings," he explains.
On the first day of the fact-finding mission, a decision is
taken to keep the group together and "avoid complications."
Numbering around 30 people and made up of human rights
activists and journalists, our group headed for the border some
300 kilometers away. Stopped ten times at security check points
along the road, we are constantly surrounded by the remains of
petroleum tankers.
Following the Gulf War, the road has been empty. There is
hardly any traffic now and the sanctions on Iraq have hurt the
local economy most.
A police officer explains, "this situation has helped the
PKK. Most of the unemployed youngsters are now heading for the
mountains." Custom officials tell us that two to three thousand
trucks were crossing the border before the sanctions. Now, even
the customs crossing point is empty. "If things go on this way,
the whole region will be empty," one customs official interjects.
Immediately on the other side of the border we are greeted
by
a Kurdish border policeman. "Welcome to Kurdistan," he says,
standing before a signpost saying the same thing.
Close to the border post is the vast mountain of Cudi which
ranges from Turkey into Iraq and has been used over the years as
a crossing point by PKK militants. Mount Cudi is smoking.
"Turkish planes hit it again this morning" one Peshmerge
explains.
In Zakho about 200 Turkish Kurds are on hunger strike. "They
are bombing our villages," a middle age villager says. "We want
to live like human beings," he adds.
The delegation then moves on to a camp where about 2,000
refugees who have fled Turkey are housed. Despite previous
statements by Turkey that the migration is only a PKK ploy, the
first thing which attracts our attention is the crowded number
of women and children.
The situation in the Sheranishe and Beheri camps just on the
slopes of the Zerkan mountains astonishes members of the
delegation. Suddenly there are too many people. More than
10,000 villagers are now there and about half of them are
children. Complaints are similar. Stories are almost
identical. Some complain of being forced to join the village
guards and losing their villages when they refused. Others say
their settlements were bombed. The most common complaints are
related to health and nutrition problems. There is a demand for
more assistance from the United Nations.
"We were forces to move here because of the security
operations," explains an elderly man. "They bombed and
destroyed our villages."
Following the visit to three separate camps, a Turkish
officer at the Habur border gate tells us there are 4,000 PKK
terrorists on Mount Cudi. "We are conducting operations on the
mountain every day," he says. "We have no day or night. It is
very difficult."
In the evening, we hear cannons pounding the mountain once
again. Members of the delegation go silent as they listen. The
roads at night are still dangerous. Nothing goes by but for
military vehicles. Most officers insist we do not continue.
"It is too dangerous," one of them says. It is in contrast to
official statements made back in Ankara that Turkey has full
control throughout the region.
At one military post, where we are hosted while waiting for
a
fully equipped escort convoy, we chat with officers. They
believe the problem in the Southeast can only be solved through
peaceful methods.
One officer says they have identified 2,500 PKK militants in
Mardin by name. "But in the past two years, we could only get
some of them. People forced to migrate are joining the
organization."
Another officer interjects, "peaceful methods are a must."
Two of the four villagers on the Landrover are elderly and in
no way do they resemble terrorists. Members of the delegation
are in pain, knowing they cannot do anything. Two women on the
bus wipe away their tears. If the villagers are crying as well,
there is no way to know. Their eyes are blindfolded. They
cannot even see that someone cares.
These days, the scene everywhere in the southeast is
similar.
There is only military traffic on the roads at night. During
the day, one can easily hear the blades of helicopters chopping
through the air. Echoes of faraway explosions can be heard.
And now, becoming a part of the natural scene, is the smoke.
The mountains of the Southeast are smoking....