in Bosnia, condemned the offensivernin a speech at the RoyalrnUnited Services Institute: “Therncontinual TV images of the VJest’srnhigh-technology systems causingrndeath and destruction to peoplernin the Third World will not berntolerated forever by civilisedrnpeople.”rnTurkey’s help—and the use of its airrnbase at Incirlik, in eastern Anatolia—rnproved fai’ more important to Washingtonrnthan the Kurds’ struggle. Ocalan’s capturernwas preceded by a statement fromrnState Department spokesman James Rubinrnon February 1: “[C]ountries shouldrntake steps consistent with their nationalrnlegal system to assist Turkey’s efforts tornbring Ocalan to justice.”rnAnyone unfortunate enough to have arnfirst-hand experience of Turkish “justice”rnmay beg to differ, as the Independent reportsrn(February 19):rnKurds are being systematicallyrnsubjected to electric shockrntreatments and other sophisticatedrntortures by the Turkish government.rn. . . Men and women arernbeing suspended naked from thernceiling, hosed with cold water,rnand beaten on the soles of theirrnfeet, [a] two-year study reveals.rnThe shocking findings, by thernBritish-based Medical Foundationrnfor the Care of Victims of Torture,rn. . . [are] based on arnstudy of 78 patients who were examinedrnat the Foundation’s Londonrnheadquarters between January 1997rnand March 1998. . . . A source atrnthe Foundation said: ” . . . Thoserncarrying out the practices werernclearly aware of how far theyrncould go and when they shouldrnstop for fear of causing death.”rnOf the 70 male and eight femalernpatients . . . only 15 wererncharged with an offence and onlyrnthree convicted.rnWhile deploying scorched-earth tacticsrnagainst Kurdish villagers suspected ofrnsupporting separatists, the Turks have nornquahns about supporting Albanian armedrnseparatists in Kosovo. Kanal-7 TV in Istanbulrncarried an interview (February 1)rnwith Suayip Muya, who represents thernKosovo Liberation Army in Turkey.rnAsked what he expected from Turkey,rnMuya replied: “Based on . . . political,rncultural, religious and other ties, thern[KLA] considers Turkey to be the primernsource of support and expects everythingrnfrom Turkey and we thank you for the aidrnextended by the Turkish people.”rnSimon Jenkins, in the Times (Februaryrn19), advised Messrs. Chnton and Blair:rnBOMB Turkey now. Let’s not wait.rnFlatten Ankara, Tomahawk thernBosphorus, take out Izmir. If werncan bomb Serbia for the Kosovansrnand bomb . . . Saddam Hussein forrnthe Iraqi Kurds, we can surelyrnbomb Turkey for their mountainrnbrothers. Why wait until “morernpeople die” or until “RobinrnCook’s patience is exhausted”?rnNew Labour bombs sooner. Itrnbombs for peace. Thatcher bombedrnbut Blair bombs bigger. Whatrnhypocrites we are. We showed notrnthe slightest interest in Kosovornuntil a violent faction of thernKosovan separatist movement beganrnkilling people. Then suddenlyrnKosovan autonomy i s an “issue ofrninternational security and humanrnrights.” Likewise with thernKurds. Only when a violent minorityrntakes i t s violence to thernambassadorial ghettos of WesternrnEurope is every newspaper alertrnto the cause, every radio soundingrnthe grievance, every talkrnshow fawning for a spokesman.rnJenkins argues that the PKK (the Kurdishrnseparatist movement) is ideallyrnplaced for intervention:rnWhat could be more glorious thanrnfor Tony Blair to take on thernlast unfinished business of 20thcenturyrnstatecraft and grant thernPKK i t s wish? The Turkish suppressionrnof the PKK and thatrnmovement’s bloody retaliationrnscream out for a Lancaster Housernconference. Turkey may be arnsovereign state, but then so arernIraq and Yugoslavia.rnBombing is not always all fun and nornrisk, reports the Independent (Februaryrn5). The United States may be forced tornacknowledge that it mistakenly attacked arnpharmaceutical factory in Sudan withrncruise missiles last year.rnThe owner of the plant, SalehrnIdris, has asked the US to apologise,rnto unfreeze his assets andrnto conpensate him for damage tornthe factory. . . . “We’d like torns e t t l e this peacefully,” saidrnJohn Scanlon, who represents Mr.rnIdris in New York. But a legalrnaction was under preparationrn. . . Mr. Idris . . . has alsornretained Kroll Associates, thernworld’s leading firm of privaterninvestigators, to examine the evidence.rnMr. Scanlon said itrnproves that there was no chemicalrnweapons plant in the factory,rnthat i t had never belonged to Mr.rnbin Laden and that there were nornlinks between Mr. Idris and Mr.rnbin Laden or the Iraqi government.rn. . . One US governmentrnsource told The Independent thatrni t was a case of “right country,rnwrong building.”rnWhile the eventual U.S. apology mayrnbe accompanied by a hefty check, signedrnby the American taxpayer, Ted Turner’srnmeal of humble pie in February at leastrndid not cost him any money.rnTurner had to apologize first to thernPope and then to the people of Poland forrntelling a “joke” at a pro-abortionists’ rallyrnin New York that was insulting to the Pontiffrnand offensive to all other Poles. That,rnin itself, is unremarkable: Christians andrnEuropeans are fair game in Turner’srnscheme of things. What is remarkable isrnthe closing paragraph of a Reuters reportrn(February 20) on Turner’s remarks:rnA Turner spokesman said Fridayrnthat he likely would wait to consultrnthe State Department beforernapologizing, but a spokeswomanrnsaid Saturday he decided to apologizernsooner to quickly bring anrnend to the matter.rnHow bold of Ted! His daring act ofrnapology, without clearance from MadeleinernAlbright, shows the injustice of ourrnsuspicions that Turner’s CNN, unfairlyrnknown in some foreign lands as “Clinton’srnNews Network,” was in cahootsrnwith the powers-that-be in Washington.rnA man who can act so independently inrnpersonal matters can surely be trusted torngive us an unbiased and comprehensivernstory on Iraq, Kosovo, the Kurds, orrnJuanita Broaddrick. God bless him andrnour independent media!rnMAY 1999/25rnrnrn