Turkey: KCK plans to have Kurdish female activists killed in demonstrations to climb provokation

The Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella organization for all groups related to the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), planned to have female activists on the front line during a planned demonstration in İstanbul’s Taksim Square and possibly have one woman die under a police panzer, documents found in the course of an investigation into the KCK have shown. More than 100 people were detained earlier this week as part of an operation into the KCK.

Documents seized indicate that the group was planning demonstrations aimed to agitate the public. One of the directives found during searches of the suspects’ homes and offices said, “Women dying will prove our righteousness.” The document also advised: “Don’t be afraid to get arrested. There will be a revolution soon and we will empty all the prisons.”

Forty-three of the 126 people detained on Wednesday as part of the operation were referred to court on Thursday upon completion of a police interrogation. Security was tight outside the Beşiktaş Courthouse in İstanbul as the suspects were escorted by police from the İstanbul Counterterrorism Department. The İstanbul specially authorized prosecutor was expected to hear their testimony following a physical examination in the courthouse’s medical unit.

In other news, reports from the southeastern city of Gaziantep said the city prosecutor, who had issued a detention warrant for Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Gaziantep provincial branch President Bedran Fermanoğlu on Saturday as part of an operation into the KCK in the city, delayed Fermanoğlu’s detention to allow him to participate in his son’s wedding. According to reports, Fermanoğlu, who was detained on Sunday after his son and daughter-in-law flew to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) for their honeymoon, reportedly thanked the prosecutor for the courtesy he’d been shown.

In another ongoing case in which five KCK suspects are on trial at the Ankara 11th High Criminal Court, the prosecutor demanded 15 years for the defendants on charges of membership in a terrorist group. Four of the defendants are lawyers.

The prosecution claims that defendant Filiz Kalaycı had proven ties to Şeyhmus Özsubaşı, a terrorist given life for membership in the PKK. The prosecution says various PKK-related documents were found in the office of Kalaycı, which she shares with Murat Vargün, another defendant.

Another defendant is a former member of the Democratic Society Party (DTP), which was shut down by a high court ruling in 2008 on charges of separatism. Former DTP member Nedim Taş is accused of organizing pro-PKK marches. The fourth defendant, lawyer Halil İbrahim Vargün, is accused of organizing illegal demonstrations in line with orders given from the KCK administration. Lawyers Hasan Anılar and Murat Vargün face similar charges. The prosecutor demands between seven years, six months and 15 years for the defendants on charges of membership in the PKK.

The KCK investigation has also placed in a difficult position a member of the Kadıköy Municipality who was detained last week as part of a corruption investigation. Aşır Kavalcı, a civil servant working in the Kadıköy Municipality’s supply department, was taken for a medical examination together with the KCK suspects. Kavalcı was filmed by journalists together with the KCK defendants during this time, which he said had portrayed him as a KCK suspect. “Television portrayed me as a KCK suspect. This has made life difficult for me,” he said. He added that he was released the same day he was detained.
06 October 2011
SOURCE: TODAY’S ZAMAN