Jailed Kurd MP Urges U.S. To Scrap Helicopter Deal

Fri Feb 27 09:13:29 GMT 1998

     ANKARA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - A jailed Kurdish MP nominated for
this year's Nobel Peace Prize urged the United States on Saturday
to cancel a planned $3 billion sale of helicopters to Turkey
because of Ankara's human rights record.
     "The United States should once again review its policy on
the attack helicopters, which I believe should not be given,"
Leyla Zana said in a letter she gave to U.S. Assistant Secretary
of State John Shattuck.
     The pair met in Ankara central prison on Saturday during a
human rights fact-finding mission to NATO ally Turkey by
Shattuck.
     Zana and three other Kurdish deputies were imprisoned for 15
years in 1994 on charges of links to Kurdish rebels, largely on
the basis of speeches they had made.
     Their case is among the most prominent human rights issues
in Turkey, stalled in its bid to join the European Union partly
because of its rights record.
     Washington gave the green light in December to U.S. firms
Bell Helicopter Textron and Boeing-McDonnell Douglas to supply
AH-1 Cobras and AH-64 Apaches respectively to Turkey.
     Members of Congress had expressed concerns about arms sales
to Turkey because of its rights record.
     Zana, whose letter was released by the Human Rights
Association, said Turkey had made no improvements on human
rights.
     "Systematic torture continues to be both an interrogation
method and a state policy," she said.
     "The obstacles in the way of freedom of expression have not
been lifted."
     The leadership of a Kurdish party was arrested last week on
charges of ties to Kurdish guerrillas. They face up to 15 years
in jail.
     Zana last year rejected any attempt to release her until a
solution was found to Turkey's festering Kurdish problem. More
than 27,000 people have been killed in 13 years of clashes
between security forces and Kurdish rebels, fighting for
self-rule in southeast Turkey.
     The United States is generally supportive of the Turkish
fight against the rebels. It backs Turkey as a valuable partner
in a tough neighborhood that includes Iraq, Iran and Syria.

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