Information on the police response to complaints of religious violence or harassment by Alevis in Istanbul [TUR25857.E]

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.