US military equipment used for huma

kurdeng at aps.nl kurdeng at aps.nl
Sat Jun 17 17:42:15 BST 1995


From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl
Subject: US military equipment used for human right violations
Reply-To: kurdeng at aps.nl

8353; Sat, 17 Jun 1995 17:23:44 -0800


    WASHINGTON (AP) -- Turkish troops committed human rights
violations with the help of U.S. military equipment in a campaign
against separatist rebels, the State Department said Thursday.
    Summarizing the report, department spokeswoman Christine Shelly
it was ``highly likely'' that the equipment was used ``in support
of the evacuation and-or destruction of villages in southeastern
Turkey.''
    She noted that Turkey faces ``a major threat to its sovereignty
and territorial integrity'' from the separatist Kurdistan Workers
Party, which the Clinton administration describes as a terrorist
organization.
    The report was mandated by Congress following allegations of
rights abuses by the Turkish military. Congress also ordered the
withholding of 10 percent of Turkey's military aid of $364.5
million pending release of the report.
    In the meantime, however, Turkey said it would not accept
conditioned aid and refused to accept the 10 percent even if the
Congress gave the green light for it.
    Shelly said the report concludes there is no evidence that
verifies reports of torture or ``mystery killings'' involving U.S.
equipment. The study does not deal with Turkey's dispatch of troops
in March into northern Iraq to attack bases used by Kurdish rebels
to carry out raids inside Turkey.
    Given Turkey's role as a secular Islamic democracy in a region
marked by turmoil, the administration has been eager to maintain
close ties with Ankara, a longtime ally, a point reaffirmed in the
report.
    Shelly said the administration does not believe that the report
will alter in any way the basic nature of the U.S. relationship
with Turkey.
    The study notes that the Turkish government has recognized the
need to improve its human rights situation. It cites proposals,
which if adopted and implemented, ``could lead to important and
positive changes in the situation in the southeast,'' she said.
    ``We ascribe great importance to the Turkish government's
democratization initiative,'' she said.

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 * Origin: APS Amsterdam (aps.nl), bbs +31-20-6842147 (16:31/2.0)



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