Dokument #1300233
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
According to Human Rights Watch World
Report 1996,
police in Turkey continued to use excessive
force in performing their duties in violation of both Turkish and
international law. In mid-March [1995], police in Istanbul fired
into crowds of Alevi demonstrators, killing twenty-one. Although
agitators from extreme left-wing organizations were active in the
demons-tration, and rocks, bottles, and molotov cocktails were
thrown, the police response was not proportional to the threat
faced. Alevis ... were protesting a March 12 armed attack by
extreme right-wing groups against coffee houses frequented by
Alevis and leftists that left two dead and scores wounded. The
district police chief was removed from his post after the
shootings, and in July the trial of twenty police officers alleged
to have used firearms during the demonstration "exceeding the
limits of defence and obligation" began in Istanbul (1996,
242).
The attached 13 April 1995 Inter Press
Service (IPS) article states that the Istanbul Alawite community
had "lost confidence in the police" and were skeptical about
investigations related to the violence that resulted in the death
of more than 20 people during March 1995 clashes with the Istanbul
police.
Also attached please find copies of reports
from IPS, Agence France Presse (AFP) and the Turkish TV taht
provide more information on the 12 March 1995 Alevi confrontations
with the police in Istanbul.
Further information on the above-mentioned
topic could not be found among the sources consulted by the
DIRB.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of
additional sources consulted in researching this Information
Request.
References
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 1995.
Human Rights Watch World Report 1996. New York: Human
Rights Watch.
Inter Press Service (IPS). 13 April
1995. Nadire Mater. "Turkey: Alawites Agitate for Judicial Action
in the Wake of Riots." (NEXIS)
Attachments
Agence France Presse (AFP). 14 March
1995. "Sixteen Killed in Community Violence in Turkey." (NEXIS)
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 1995.
Human Rights Watch World Report 1996. New York: Human
Rights Watch.
Inter Press Service (IPS). 13 April
1995. Nadire Mater. "Turkey: Alawites Agitate for Judicial Action
in the Wake of Riots." (NEXIS)
_____. 13 March 1995. Nadire Mater.
"Turkey ( Religion: Fourteen Die as Police Confront Rioting
Alevites." (NEXIS)
Middle East Times [Cairo].
19-25 March 1995. Hervé Couturier. "Inter-Islamic Strife in
Turkey."
TRT TV [Ankara, in Turkish]. 13 march
1995. "Protest Demonstration After Attack on Istanbul Coffee
Houses." (BBC Summary 14 Mar. 1995/NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
Amnesty International. Amnesty
International Report. 1990-1996.
Amnesty International periodic reports
and press releases.
Centre for Refugee Studies. March 1994.
MHP/MCP, the Turkish State, and Alevi Turks: Dangerous
Alliances. Toronto: York University.
Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices. 1990-1996.
Critique: Review of the Department
of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
1994.Yearly.
Foreign Broadcast Information
Service (FBIS) Daily Reports.
McDowall, David. May 1994. Briefing
Note Regarding the Current Status of Alevi Kurds. St. John's:
The Newfoundland Legal Aid Commission.