Police vehicle attacked, two police injured

NEWSCENTRE (DIHA) Police vehicle was attacked, two police were injured in Omerli district of mardin. A howitzer attack carried on military barrack in Siirt. No casualty was reported and wide-scale military operation was launched around the scenes.

Police threatened 16 year-old minor

16 year-old minor F.Ü. was threatened by police in Mersin. Police suspected and detained F.Ü who was allegedly insulted and threatened when he was in juvenile branch of Mersin Police Department. Police said that “we will be 20 thousand in Mersin and destroy all Kurds. No one will find us.”F.Ü. applied to the Human Rights Association for legal assistance.

Peace Mothers hit the road for peace, once again

Peace Mothers Initiative will visit every single district in the region for peace call. They launched the action today in Diyarbakır. 28 July is the date for simultaneous march in each corner of the region. Mothers will explain their consideration because of increasing conflict and casualties. Mothers’ ‘Long march’ will continue until conflicts end.
Six individuals detained in Siirt
Six people were detained at the home raids made after the missile attack on Doğu Barrack of 3rd Commando Brigade Commandership in Siirt. A missile attack was carried out on 3rd Commando Brigade Commandership in Bayraklı location in Siirt city centre. While there is no information about any deaths or injuries after the attack at around 21.00 last night, the city centre was blockaded by police and special operation teams. The fire started during the attack was extinguished by soldiers.
Reporters Sans Frontiers condemns attack on three DIHA reporters
Reporters Without Borders condemns the physical attacks on three journalists from Dicle News Agency (DIHA) that took place while they were covering demonstrations by members of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in Istanbul on 18 July. Ismail Eskin and Cagdas Kaplan of the DIHA press agency were seriously injured while filming one of the demonstrations in Küçükçekmece, a district on the northern outskirts of Istanbul. According to Diha, they were near a shop that had been set on fire by Molotov cocktails when they were attacked by a group of nationalists, egged on by police.

30 acres land turn into ashes due to artillery shooting
30 acres land including peasants’ garden and fields in Dicle district of Diyarbakır turned into ashes because of artillery shooting during military operation. Residents and owners of burned land formed a committee to speak with military authorities who said they had to opened fire to protect themselves.

Shops closed in Cukurca for funeral of HPG member
Shop keepers closed the shutters to salute to the funeral of Resul Abdullah Gulikanlu member of People’s Defence Force (HPG) whose dead body wasn’t given to family until midnight. There is a condolences tent built for three days.
Kurdish journalist Kılınç detained
Journalist Ozan Kılınç, former official of the Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper, was detained on 22 July. He had received a prison sentence of more than 21 years in February on the grounds of spreading propaganda for the PKK in some of the articles published in the paper.

Kurdish media condemns attacks and oppression
Employees of the Kurdish newspapers Günlük and Azadiya Welat and of the DİHA news agency announced that they are continuously exposed to various forms of oppression. Aykol from Günlük said, "We keep on working despite all physical and legal attacks".
Here are the attacks occurred in the last 6 months as follows: Metin Alataş, working for the Azadiya Welat newspaper in Adana, was found hung in a tree on 4 April.
On 14 June, DİHA reporter Ersin Çelik received a prison sentence of six years and three months. He was tried with another 30 defendants who were alleged members of the Patriotic Democratic Youth.
On 20 May, DİHA reporter Murat Altunöz was refused permission to cover a boycott action organized by the Students Association of the Mustafe Kemal University in Hatay (eastern Mediterranean coast). He was made to enter the car of plainclothes gendarmerie officers who tried to seize Altınöz's camera.
DİHA reporter Pınar Ural was attacked by unidentified persons in a public bus after she had covered an event on 17 May.
On 25 May, DİHA reporter Ömer Çelik was attacked by a group of ultra-nationalists. Çelik's left arm was cracked and many stitches on his head
DİHA reporters Çağdaş Kaplan and İsmail Eskin were attacked by a group of people after covering a press release of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) on 18 July. Eskin suffered two cracks in his head. His camera was seized by the attackers.
Vedat Kurşun, former editor-in-chief of Azadiya Welat newspaper, was handed down a prison sentence of 166 years and six months in the hearing on 13 May.
Ozan Kılınç, former concessionaire of the Azadiya Welat daily, received a prison sentence of 21 years and three months in February this year.
Bedri Aandır, owner of Aram Publishing and chief editor of the Hawar newspaper, is facing imprisonment of up to 50 years. The case is still pending.

Pakistan Press Foundation, condemns the attack on reporters of the Dicle News Agency
Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), an independent non-governmental institution committed to promoting and defending freedom of expression, condemned the attack on journalists Ismail Eskin and Çagdas Kaplan, of the Dicle News Agency (DIHA), by a large group of people.
505 lawyers call for end of military operation
More than 500 lawyers affiliated to the Istanbul Bar Association took out a full-page announcement in four nationwide newspapers, namely Radikal, Taraf, Evrensel and Birgün to call for a peaceful solution of the Kurdish Question.
The armed conflict between the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has recently seen a peak in intensity. A total of 649 non-governmental organizations from Diyarbakır reiterated their call for peace in a joint statement issued on 20 July. After a two-day meeting they urged the involved parties to "make their weapons fall silent".
Turkish army set fire on 20 forests in three weeks

It is reported that Turkish army set fire on 20 forests in the last 21 days. It is also alleged that, the responsible authorities aren’t taking any precautions to extinguish the forest fires in the region. According to the statistics gathered by ANF in 2009 approximately 20 forest fires took place following military operations. The figures for 2008 reach 40. Majority of the fires took place in Diyarbakır, Hakkari, Şırnak, Bitlis, Bingöl, Dersim, Elazığ, Siirt and Mardin provinces.
Burned Azadiya Welat staff taken to hospital

Azadiya Welat worker Erkan Gümüştaş, detained in Urfa E Type Closed Prison, was diagnosed with heavy burns and was taken to Training and Research Hospital in Sanlıurfa. The burns on a large part of Gümüştaş’s body are said to be life-critical. There is no explanation about the reason of the incident. Gümüştaş was arrested on charges of participating in the march in Urfa in 2008. He received 16 years and 6 months imprisonment.

(gü)