Turkey

March 8, International Women's Day, was celebrated in a variety of ways around the world. In Turkey, the women of Izmir Savas Karsitlari Dernegi (ISKD--the Izmir War Resisters Association) produced Dario Fo's play "The Rape", and held a discussion afterwards with the audience. The women joined with other organizations to march on March 11, rather than March 8, in order to increase participation.

by Fatma Karahan

Especially lately, many women from Kurdistan have had to leave their homes with their husbands or fathers because of pressure from the Turkish government, or for economic or other reasons. They come to Istanbul, where they find themselves in a foreign culture, with a different language. These Kurdish women in Turkish urban areas confront many problems.

Show Your Solidarity

Messages of solidarity and concern are always appreciated. You can write, fax or email many of the women's groups in former Yugoslavia that you have read about in past issues of this newsletter. The booklet "Adressen von Friedens-Frauen-und Menschenrechtorganisationen im ehemaligen Jugoslawien" ("Addresses of Peace, Women's and Human Rights Organizations in Former Yugoslavia", in English and German) is an good source of information about contacts with women's groups in the area.

Organisations with anti-militarist aims cannot be set up in Turkey-it's official. Last year the Turkish Ministry of the Interior refused the registration of the Izmir group of Savas Karsitlari Dernegi (SKD-the War Resisters Association), and now it has refused registration to Istanbul SKD.

Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara groups of SKD continue to operate unofficially working to open a path between "forced fighting and silence" after 14 years of apathy in Turkey towards the war in "South-East"-the area it is forbidden to call "Kurdistan".

On 21 April, Aytek Özel — the former chair of the Turkish War Resisters Association in Izmir — was sentenced to one year and 15 days for seeking to turn the Turkish people against the military. The remarks were made in a TV interview on 8 December when Aytek said he supported people not reporting for military service, adding that he would not consign any child of his to the army.

Conscientious Objection in Turkey: Arrest of 9 CO Activists in Istanbul

International CO Day, 15 May, in many countries will focus on the theme "possibilities for nonviolent solutions for the conflict in Turkish Kurdistan". But Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Çiller has declared her intention of achieving a military solution by then, and as a result the situation is hotting up for Turkish war resisters.