From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Date: 28 Sep 92 10:18 PDT
Subject: TURKEY: AI calls for inquiry
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700541:000:4643
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Sep 28 10:18:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: TURKEY: AI calls for inquiry

/* Written  6:42 pm  Sep 27, 1992 by aiusala in cdp:ai.general */
Amnesty International
International Secretariat
1 Easton Street
London WC1X 8DJ
United Kingdom

DATE: 25 SEPTEMBER 1992

WEEKLY UPDATE SERVICE 38/92

TURKEY: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CALLS FOR INQUIRY INTO ALLEGED KILLING OF
CIVILIANS BY SECURITY FORCES IN SiRNAK.

	Amnesty International has called for an immediate, independent and
impartial inquiry into the events in Sirnak between 18 and 21 August 1992
when at least 15 civilians, including five children, were killed by
security forces who fired, apparently indiscriminately, for 48 hours on
the city and neighbouring villages.  The organization has asked that the
findings of the inquiry should be made public.

In government statements it was initially claimed that the security forces'
actions were in response to a large-scale attack on government and military
buildings by 1,500 guerrillas of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).  However,
this figure was repeatedly revised downwards, and it appears that no
guerrillas nor any of the heavy weapons purportedly used by them in the
attack were captured.

Information coming from the region has been confused, and journalists and
politicians visiting the area have been obstructed in their efforts to
establish what happened.  It appears that the incident may have been
triggered by a brief initial attack on 18 August from within the city,
during which members of the security forces were killed.  The security
forces then responded massively by shelling and firing for 48 hours,
reportedly expending hundreds of thousands of bullets.

Refugees fleeing the city were reported as saying that security forces had
deliberately crashed into cars and buildings with tanks, broken into shops
and set fire to houses.  Members of the local branch of the ruling True
Path Party who were in their party building at the time described being
fired on by a tank.  Although much of the city was seriously damaged, and
many houses wholly or partially destroyed, observers state that government
buildings, the police headquarters and civil servants' resident ial blocks
were largely unharmed.

In the village of Balveren, 12 kilometres from Sirnak, the house of the
Artuc family was hit by an explosive device allegedly fired by the security
forces.  Ten-year-old Ibrahim Artuc was killed instantly, while five other
children and their mother were severely injured.

Mustafa Malay, the governor of Sirnak, has stated: "There may have been
some mistakes".

The United Nations Basic Principles on the use of Force and Firearms by Law
Enforcement Officials state that law enforcement officials should "minimize
damage and injury, and respect and preserve human life" (Article 5b).
Article 9 states: "Law enforcement officials shall not use firearms
against persons except in self-defence or defence of others against the
imminent threat of death or serious injury, to prevent the perpetration of
a particularly serious crime involving grave threat to life, to arrest a
person presenting such a danger and resisting their authority, or to
prevent his or her escape, and only when less extreme means are
insufficient to achieve these objectives".  It would appear that these
conditions did not prevail in Sirnak at the time the civilians were
killed.  The UN Basic Principles also prohibit the use of firearms and
ammunition that cause unwarranted injury or present an unwarranted risk.

Following the incident approximately 20,000 inhabitants fled from the city
and are now staying in other towns in southeast Turkey or in makeshift
camps some distance from the city.

The killings in Sirnak are the most recent in a succession of similar
incidents which have occurred since the new government took over in
November.  More than a hundred civilians, including many women, children
and elderly persons, have been killed in incidents in which it was clear
that security forces either killed civilians who were offering no violence,
or failed properly to establish targets.  On 5 March police marched in
Sirnak shouting slogans such as "Blood for blood" and "Sirnak will be the
gr ave of the Kurds", and allegedly caused considerable damage to property
in the city.  The government did not appear to react in any way to this
incident and two weeks later, five children and two elderly people were
among at least 30 civilians killed durin g disturbances at the time of the
Kurdish New Year.  The government again failed to take any steps to
investigate effectively the circumstances in which the civilians were
killed.