Critics say Turkish government used quake to push through controversial laws

10.31 a.m. ET (1434 GMT) August 30, 1999

By Selcan Hacaoglu, Associated Press

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP)  Critics are accusing the Turkish government of taking advantage of the chaos following the recent deadly earthquake to ram several controversial bills through parliament.

The bills included a partial amnesty for Kurdish rebels, an increase in the retirement age, and the pardoning of more than 26,000 criminals.

"It was a (government) raid on parliament,'' Yusuf Kanli, a commentator for the English-language Turkish Daily News said Sunday. "They wanted to benefit from the quake.''

Many of the bills were passed late at night by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's coalition, which has the support of 351 deputies in the 550-seat parliament. Parliament also strengthened the power of the government to deal with the earthquake before it went on summer recess until the beginning of October.

Ecevit plans to discuss possible U.S. aid to quake victims when he meets with President Clinton on Sept. 28, a U.S. official said today.

Clinton already has said that he will do all he can to assist Turkey, a close U.S. ally. An official at the U.S. Embassy said a U.S. economic aid package was under consideration, but gave no details. The official spoke on customary condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, parliament's quick passage of several controversial laws sparked criticism from various quarters.

Yildirim Koc, a spokesman for Turkey's largest labor union, Turk-Is, said that if it weren't for the quake, there would have been "widespread and intense'' protests to the law raising the retirement age.

Earlier this year, the proposal to lift the retirement age  to 60 from 50 for men and to 58 from 45 for women  sparked weeks of protest and a general strike. But after the quake, union members had no time to mobilize because they were busy burying colleagues and friends.

The bill to pardon 26,000 criminals was passed Saturday morning after all-night discussions. It ostensibly aimed at alleviating the country's overcrowded jails. It also stiffened penalties for future offenders. But the pardon also included members of the police and civil services charged or convicted of torture and misuse of power before April 23, 1999.

The daily Radikal lashed out at that deal, saying the government "pardoned itself.''

Human rights groups have accused Turkish police of widespread torture and harassment of suspects.

The daily Evrensel said the pardon included five officers sentenced earlier this year to prison terms of 7 1/2 years in the beating death of one of their reporters  Metin Goktepe  while he was in police custody three years ago.

Meeting at midnight last Thursday, parliament approved a "repentance law'' granting partial amnesty to members of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which has waged a 15-year fight for autonomy in southeast Turkey that's killed 37,000 people.

The proposed law had been heavily criticized by nationalists opposed to granting any concessions to the rebels.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), August 30, 1999

Answers

The new laws sound sensible. I lived in Turkey once for several months and have to tell you that the country is a bit anti-democratic in its processes. There's a lot of corruption. Prisoners are held unfairly for long periods of time. The Kurds have been treated monstrously. The raising of the retirement ages sounds rather a good idea.

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWayne@aol.com), August 30, 1999.

Same thing will happen here too. While Y2K chaos reigns, the government will gleefully take the "opportunity" to push through all sorts of repugnant "laws." The weeples will be too preoccupied scavenging scraps of anything edible and ducking snipers to notice. Besides, no newspapers, TV, radio, Net -- info blackout.

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), August 30, 1999.

A & L.. "While Y2K chaos reigns"?? They certainly aren't waiting for THAT opportunity to pass the needed laws or proclaim the necessary Executive Orders. Only a couple are missing - actual confiscation of guns and gold.. though perhaps those are covered under some of the FEMA authorities. Oh, yeah.. one more.. the 3 rd term of the Komander in Chief.

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), August 30, 1999.