Key developments since May 2003: Turkey acceded to the Mine Ban
Treaty on 25 September 2003 and became a State Party on 1 March 2004. In May
2004, Turkey reported to Landmine Monitor that it has a stockpile of 3,039,472
antipersonnel mines. Turkey intends to retain 16,000 antipersonnel mines, the
second highest total among States Parties. Turkey denied that the US has a
stockpile of antipersonnel mines in Turkey and stated that it considers the
stockpiling or transit of foreign antipersonnel mines on its territory as a
breach of the treaty. In 2004, attacks against government forces by the PKK
increased, including reported use of mines. Mine clearance continues in several
provinces in Turkey.
Key developments since 1999: Turkey acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on
25 September 2003, on the same day Greece ratified. Turkey claims that existing
domestic legislation gives effect to the treaty obligations. Previously,
production of antipersonnel mines ceased in January 1996. A 1996 export
moratorium was renewed in 1999 and made permanent in March 2002. Use of
antipersonnel mines was banned in 1998. Turkey first stated its intention to
accede in the near future in May 1999, and participated in Mine Ban Treaty
meetings regularly ever since. Agreements to demine borders with Bulgaria and
Georgia were made in 1999 and 2001. Turkey completed clearance of its border
with Bulgaria in mid-2002. By the end of 2003, 14,487 antipersonnel mines had
been removed in eastern and southeastern areas, and an area of 48,120 square
meters was cleared on the border with Armenia. The government accused PKK of
using mines in 1999-2002, and 2004. PKK stated its intention to ban
antipersonnel mines in January 2002. The Turkish government has claimed that
between 1993 and 2003, landmines caused 2,905 casualties. Since 2000, at least
260 new mine casualties were reported, including 72 people killed and 188
injured.
Mine Ban Policy
The Republic of Turkey acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 25 September 2003.
At the same time, Greece deposited its instrument of ratification, fulfilling an
agreement made by both countries in April 2001 to proceed together to become
States Parties. The treaty entered into force for both Turkey and Greece on 1
March 2004.[1]
In previous years, Turkey cited security concerns related to its geographical
position, and the military utility of antipersonnel mines in border protection,
as reasons for being unable to join the treaty. It attended few of the
preparatory meetings in the Ottawa Process leading to the Mine Ban Treaty, and
abstained from the pro-ban UN General Assembly resolutions of 1996 and 1997.
But Turkey voted in favor of the UNGA resolution in 1998 calling for
universalization of the Mine Ban Treaty, and in May 1999, it attended the First
Meeting of States Parties, where Turkey’s representative foresaw accession
“at the beginning of the next decade if present conditions do not change
adversely.” Turkey declared that it accepted the norms established by the
treaty, and would start incorporating these into its national policies before
accession. Export of antipersonnel mines was halted in 1996, use was banned in
1998, and agreements to demine borders with Bulgaria and Georgia were made in
1999 and 2001.[2] Turkey has
voted for every pro-ban UNGA resolution since 1998. It also made statements
supportive of the Mine Ban Treaty in the Conference on Disarmament in May 2001
and in the UN General Assembly in October 2002.
Plans for any implementation legislation, including the required penal
sanctions for violations of the treaty prohibitions, have not been revealed.
However, the Turkish Mission to the UN in Geneva indicated in July 2004 that
existing legislation “is sufficient to give legal effect to all Treaty
provisions.”[3]
Turkey’s initial transparency report as required by Article 7 of the Mine
Ban Treaty, due on 28 August 2004, had not been received by the UN as of late
September.
Turkey participated in the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in September 2003,
where its delegation gave a comprehensive account of his country’s
initiatives in compliance with the treaty. It also expressed the view that
efforts to engage non-state actors in the mine ban should avoid legitimizing
terrorist groups.[4] Turkey has
attended all annual meetings of States Parties since 1999, and most of the
intersessional meetings. At the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in
February and June 2004, it gave presentations on mine clearance and on
preparations for stockpile destruction (see later sections). Detailed
presentations were also given at the Standing Committee meetings in May 2003.
Turkey is a signatory to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), and
reported in May 2004 that it has “reached the final stages of
ratifying” the CCW and its Amended Protocol II, together with Additional
Protocol I and Protocol IV.[5]
Turkey attended, as an observer, the Fifth Conference of States Parties to
Amended Protocol II in November 2003, and has attended annual conferences of
States Parties since 1999.
NGO Activities
The national mine ban campaign, Turkey without Mines, launched the
Landmine Monitor Report 2003 on 9 September at a press conference in
Istanbul, and distributed a Turkish-language version of the country-report
throughout Turkey. The same day, the Diyarbakir Bar Association launched the
Landmine Monitor Report 2003 at its own press conference, and presented
information on the start of the Turkish campaign in Diyarbakir. In September
2002, Turkey without Mines similarly translated and distributed the report of
that year.
During 2004, Turkey without Mines translated the NGO VERTIC’s
guidelines for Article 7 reporting, and produced reports and two short films on
mine victims, which were shown on television programs. Turkey without Mines was
established in September 2000, with support from the Swiss Campaign to Ban
Landmines. In April 2003, it organized the first national conference on
antipersonnel mines in
Istanbul.[6]
The Diyarbakir Bar Association has formed a “Lawyers’ Group to
Fight Against Mines and Explosives.” On 4 October 2003, the Group sent
letters to the Prime Minister, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of National
Security, Ministry of Interior, and Governorate of Mardin, calling for mines in
the Nusaybin district of Mardin to be cleared. In 2004, the Diyarbakir Bar
Association launched a project for legal assistance to mine survivors in the
context of an EU-funded
project.[7]
The Turkish Human Rights Association and Human Rights Foundation have also
been active on the mine issue, publishing regular reports which include mine
incidents and casualties.[8]
Production and Transfer
Production of antipersonnel mines ceased concurrently with a moratorium on
the sale and transfer of antipersonnel mines in January
1996.[9] The export moratorium
was renewed in 1999 and made permanent in March 2002.
Previously, Turkey had produced both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines.
The Turkish company, MKEK, produced copies of two US antipersonnel mines (M14
and M16). A total of 47,850 mines were produced by MKEK and procured for the
Turkish armed forces.[10]
Turkey is not known to have exported antipersonnel mines. Landmine Monitor
reported that substantial quantities were imported in the past from the United
States, including M18A1 Claymore mines and more than 34,000 ADAM artillery-fired
mines from 1983–1992.[11]
However, Turkey’s Mission to the UN in Geneva reported in May 2004 that
only 728 antipersonnel mines (including the M18A1 and ADAM) were imported from
the US in this period.[12]
In April 2001, Turkey indicated that it was carrying out research into
alternatives to antipersonnel mines, in collaboration with NATO partners. No
further information has been
reported.[13]
Stockpiling and Destruction
At the Standing Committee meetings in February 2004, Turkey for the first
time provided public information on its antipersonnel mine stockpile, which it
estimated at 2.9 million. It said a destruction program was in preparation,
with a destruction facility to be completed by the end of
2005.[14] In May 2004, Turkey
provided to Landmine Monitor a higher and more precise total for the stockpile:
3,039,472 antipersonnel mines, including 11,920 Claymore-type mines. It also
stated that the stockpile would be destroyed by the end of
2008.[15] However, the deadline
set by the Mine Ban Treaty for Turkey to complete destruction of its
antipersonnel mine stockpile is 1 March 2008.
Turkey also indicated to Landmine Monitor its intention to retain 16,000
antipersonnel mines “for training & development in mine clearance,
mine detection and mine destruction
techniques.”[16] This
would constitute the second highest total of retained mines among States
Parties, after Brazil’s 16,545.
The Turkish Mission to the UN in Geneva denied that, as previously reported,
the United States has a stockpile of 1,100 Air Force Gator antipersonnel mines
in Turkey.[17] Turkey stated
that it considers the stockpiling or transit of foreign antipersonnel mines on
its territory as a breach of the Mine Ban Treaty, and “will never permit
stockpiling or transfer of any type of antipersonnel landmine on its
territory.” Similarly, it will not permit the use of antipersonnel mines
in Turkey by other States during joint military
operations.[18]
Use and Landmine Problem
The use of antipersonnel mines by Turkish Armed Forces was banned by a
directive of the Chief of General Staff on 26 January
1998.[19]
In September 2003, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its successor
groups[20] ended the 1999
unilateral ceasefire, in favor of a future bilateral ceasefire. In 2004,
attacks against government forces increased, including reported use of mines.
The Turkish government reported at least 77 military casualties to mines newly
laid by the PKK/Kongra-Gel in the first seven months of
2004.[21] The media has
reported use of mines on numerous occasions in
2004.[22]
The PKK had previously declared its willingness to ban totally antipersonnel
mines, in a 25 January 2002 letter to the Switzerland-based NGO Geneva Call.
This letter also rejected Turkish allegations that it had increased its use of
mines in late 2001, after decreased use since
2000.[23] The PKK and its
successor groups did not subsequently sign the Geneva Call Deed of Commitment
renouncing the use of antipersonnel
mines.[24] On 28 August 2004,
the People’s Defense Force (HPG) of the PKK denied responsibility for a
mine explosion in Siirt which killed two and injured five people, and declared
that it had accepted the Geneva Call Deed in
2003.[25] In previous years,
the PKK and Kurdish armed groups made extensive use of mines, and acquired large
quantities of Italian antipersonnel and antivehicle mines from
Iran.[26]
Turkey laid mines on its 877 kilometer-long border with Syria from
1956–1959, creating a 300–450 meter wide strip of mined
land.[27] Turkey also used
mines on limited sections of its borders with Iraq, Iran and Armenia, and in
“critical areas in east and south-eastern parts of Turkey...with the
purpose of hindering terrorists from moving into central regions.” Mostly
antipersonnel mines were laid, but also antivehicle mines on the Syrian
border.[28] Between 1957 and
1998, “a total of 936,663 antipersonnel landmines had been laid to prevent
illegal border crossings along border areas and around security
installations.... 615,419 of those mines were placed along the Syrian border
alone.”[29] Turkey laid
39,569 mines from 1989 to 1992 around “security installations in eastern
and southeastern
Turkey.”[30]
During the 1974 occupation of northern Cyprus, antipersonnel and antivehicle
mines were used extensively by Turkish armed forces to create the buffer zone
which divides the island, and in areas adjacent to the buffer zone. The
minefields have been maintained since then.
According to previous official statements, all use of antipersonnel mines had
ceased by January 1998.[31] At
the First Meeting of States Parties, Turkey denied reports of government use
from December 1997 to early
1999.[32]
Turkey has stated on several occasions that the mines laid by government
forces were marked in accordance with the international norms and
fenced.[33] The Landmines
Committee of the Human Rights Association reported in November 2002 that in the
southeast a number of evacuated villages are mined, which is an important
obstacle to the return of displaced people. The most mined areas were in the
provinces of Mardin, Sirnak, Hakkari, Siirt, Diyarbakir, Bitlis, Batman, Van,
and Bingöl.[34]
Mine Clearance
Turkey reports that “comprehensive mine clearance activity”
started in 1998, and mine clearance coordination centers and clearance teams
were set up. A working group was also set up to study mine clearance and
detection methods.[35] By the
end of 2003, 14,487 antipersonnel mines were removed in eastern and southeastern
areas (from the 39,569 laid there), and an area of 48,120 square meters was
cleared on the border with
Armenia.[36] Clearance
continues in the provinces of Diyarbakir, Batman, Mardin, Bitlis, Bingöl,
Tunceli, and Göle. In 2005, it is planned to start clearance in Hakkari,
Van and Sirnak provinces. In 2004, clearance was planned to start on the Syrian
border, following “the acquisition of modern mine clearance
machinery,” which was expected to release 306 million square meters for
agricultural use. The government has allocated $17 million for clearance of
this area.[37]
Since 1999, Turkey has proposed bilateral agreements with neighboring
countries to clear shared borders. The first agreement, with Bulgaria, resulted
in clearance of the Turkish side of the Bulgarian border by mid-2002. In
January 2004, a similar agreement with Georgia was ratified by the Turkish Grand
National Assembly. Similar agreements were proposed to Greece and
Azerbaijan.[38]
The deadline set by the Mine Ban Treaty for Turkey to clear all mined areas
under its jurisdiction or control is 1 March 2014.
Mine Action Funding and Assistance
During 2003, Turkey did not provide financial assistance for mine action in
other mine-affected
countries.[39] Turkish military
personnel provided training in demining techniques to Gambian armed
forces.[40] In 2004, Turkey
provided US$1,000 to the ICBL for the Landmine Monitor Report 2004.
In previous years, Turkey provided training courses on mine clearance and
contributed financially and in-kind to mine action
projects.[41] In 2002, Turkey
donated €25,000 ($23,750) to the NATO Partnership for Peace trust fund for
the destruction of stockpiled antipersonnel mines in
Ukraine.[42] It also donated
$20,000 to Georgia and $100,000 to Azerbaijan in
2002.[43] In 2001, Turkey
donated $50,000 to mine clearance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and $9,000 to the
Albanian Mine Action Executive. Turkish forces in international peacekeeping
missions in Kosovo and in Bosnia and Herzegovina have carried out mine-related
activities.
Landmine Casualties
In 2003, there was conflicting information on the number of new landmine and
unexploded ordnance (UXO) casualties in Turkey. According to the Turkish
authorities, there were eleven military casualties (one killed and ten injured)
from mines and no civilian mine
casualties.[44] However, a
press report indicates that on 1 December 2003, five soldiers were killed and
five injured when a military vehicle struck a landmine near Nusaybin in Mardin
province close to the Syrian
border.[45] Geneva Call and the
Turkish Human Rights Association (HRA) reported that, in 2003, 22 people were
killed (seven military and 15 civilians including nine children) and 45 injured
(eight military and 37 civilians including 20 children) by landmines and UXO in
2003.[46] On 3 November 2003,
four children were killed and seven were injured near Sirnak by
UXO.[47]
The Turkish government reported that from 1 January to 21 July 2004, 17
military personnel were killed and 60 injured by mines newly laid by the
PKK/Kongra-Gel.[48] Geneva Call
analyzed media reports and reports by the HRA indicating 14 mine incidents in
southeast Turkey from January to August 2004 killed 19 people (12 military and
seven civilians) and injured 16 (nine military and seven civilians including one
child). In addition, eight civilians (including three children) were killed and
27 (including 21 children) were injured by UXO in southeast Turkey during the
same period.[49]
Between 2000 and 2002, at least 87 new mine casualties were reported: 25
people in 2002 including 14 military personnel (three killed and eleven injured)
and eleven civilians (four killed and seven
injured);[50] 58 people in 2001
including 42 military (five killed and 37 injured) and 16 civilians (six killed
and ten injured); and at least two soldiers and two civilians injured in
2000.[51] In 2002, the HRA
reported 15 people (civilian and military) killed and 25 injured by
mines.[52]
No Turkish military deminers were killed or injured by mines in
2002.[53]
The Turkish government has claimed that because mines laid in its border
zones were marked and fenced to international standards, the casualties caused
by them have been minimal. But “mines and booby traps that were laid by
KADEK (PKK) terrorist group are aimed at inflicting losses to the Security
Forces and intimidating the civilian
population.”[54] The
government reported that between 1993 and 2003, landmines caused 2,905
casualties, including 1,823 military personnel (299 killed and 1,524 injured)
and 1,082 civilians (289 killed and 793
injured).[55]
On 19 July 2002, a Turkish soldier serving with the International Security
Assistance Force in Afghanistan was injured while engaged in mine clearance at
Kabul airport.[56]
Survivor Assistance
The Turkish Armed Forces has two rehabilitation centers, in Bursa (300-bed
capacity) and Ankara (200-bed capacity) which are equipped to provide
prostheses, physical therapy and psychological
assistance.[57] The centers
treat both civilian and military casualties, free of charge. Many other
hospitals in Turkey also have fully functional prosthetic and rehabilitation
facilities.[58] In 2003, the
two Army centers provided assistance, care or therapy to 210 military personnel
injured by landmines.[59] In
2002, 111 mine survivors were treated. Mine survivors can also be assisted at
the prosthetic and rehabilitation center which was opened at Dicle University in
2001, with the assistance of the US-based Physicians for Peace
Foundation.[60]
In November 2002, Turkey finalized a case before the European Court of Human
Rights by a friendly settlement, in respect of a 16-year-old boy who, in the
custody of the security forces, stepped on a mine and was killed in November
1996.[61]
[1] The agreement between Turkey and
Greece, announced on 6 April 2001, was widely recognized as a novel and positive
means of achieving full membership of the Mine Ban Treaty, in view of historical
differences between the two countries. See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p.
909. The parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee approved accession on 9 May
2002, but early elections in November 2002 delayed the legislative process.
Accession was approved unanimously by the Grand National Assembly on 14 March
2003. [2] See Landmine Monitor
Report 1999, pp. 818–819, and Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp.
846–847. Turkey also participated in regional landmine meetings in
Croatia (1999) and Slovenia
(2000). [3] Email from Murat Esenli,
Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, 7 July
2004. [4] Intervention by Turkey,
Fifth Meeting of States Parties, Bangkok, 17 September
2003. [5] Turkey response to Landmine
Monitor questionnaire, Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, 26 May 2004.
Turkey also reported that it had reached the final stages of CCW ratification in
September 2003 – Statement by Turkey, Fifth Meeting of States Parties, 17
September 2003; and in April 2003 – Fax from Murat Esenli, Permanent
Mission to the UN in Geneva, 23 April
2003. [6] See Landmine Monitor Report
2003, p. 699. [7] Email from Mehmet
Balci, Geneva Call, 1 September
2004. [8] See Landmine Monitor Report
2001, pp. 910–911. [9] Letter
from Damla Say, Counsellor, Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, 19 July
2001. [10] Turkey additional response
to Landmine Monitor Questionnaire, Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, 30 May
2004. [11] See Landmine Monitor Report
1999, pp. 820–821, citing US government
documents. [12] Response to Landmine
Monitor, 30 May 2004. Turkey could be counting ADAM artillery projectiles
instead of individual mines; there are 36 mines in each
projectile. [13] Letter from Erdgan
Iscan, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva,
received on 23 April 2001. [14]
Presentation by Turkey, Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 12
February 2004. [15] Response to
Landmine Monitor, 26 May 2004. [16]
Ibid. [17] Ibid, 30 May 2004. See
Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 757.
[18]
Ibid. [19] Statement by Turkey, Fifth
Meeting of States Parties, 17 September 2003; Presentation by Turkey, Standing
Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education, and Mine Action Technologies,
Geneva, 14 May 2003. [20] The PKK,
KADEK and KONGRA-GEL were declared terrorist groups by the European Union in May
2002 and April 2004. [21] Response to
Landmine Monitor, 30 May 2004. [22]
See for example, “Kurdish rebels shatter truce,” Kathimerini (Greek
daily newspaper), 3 June 2004. [23]
Turkey supplied the Landmine Monitor with detailed allegations of mine use by
the PKK, including 1,669 mine-related incidents from 1 January 1993 to 1 March
2002. See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, pp.
756–757. [24] Emails from Mehmet
Balci, Geneva Call, 21 August and 1 September
2004. [25] “HPG: remigration is
being prevented,” DIHA (German news agency), 28 August
2004. [26] See Landmine Monitor Report
1999, pp. 821–823, and Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp. 849–850.
[27] Letter from Murat Esenli,
Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, 29 January 2003, and fax, 23 April
2003. [28] Response to Landmine
Monitor, 26 May 2004. [29]
Presentation by Turkey, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 11 February
2004. [30] Presentation by Turkey,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 14 May
2003. [31] Fax from Murat Esenli,
Permanent Mission to the UN, 23 April
2003. [32] See Landmine Monitor Report
2000, p. 849. [33] Presentation by
Turkey, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 11 February 2004; See also
Landmine Monitor Report 2003, pp.
699–700. [34] Human Rights
Association, “HRA Land Mines Turkey Report,” 8 November
2002. [35] Presentation by Turkey,
Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 11 February
2004. [36] Response to Landmine
Monitor, 26 May 2004. [37]
Presentation by Turkey, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, 11 February
2004. [38] Email from Murat Esenli,
Permanent Mission to the UN, 7 July 2004; Statement by Turkey, Fifth Meeting of
States Parties, 17 September
2003. [39] Response to Landmine
Monitor, 26 May 2004. [40] Response to
Landmine Monitor Questionnaire from Daily Carroll, Department of State for
Foreign Affairs, Gambia, 17 May
2004. [41] Statement by Turkey, Fifth
Meeting of States Parties, 15–19 September
2003. [42] Exchange rate
€1=US$0.95, used for 2002 data. US Federal Reserve, “List of
Exchange Rates (Annual),” 6 January
2003. [43] Response to Landmine
Monitor, 30 May 2004. [44] Responses
to Landmine Monitor, 26 May and 17 June
2004. [45] “Five Turkish troops
killed by land mine near Syria border,” Associated Press, 1 December
2003. [46] Email from Mehmet Balci,
Geneva Call, 1 September 2004. Geneva Call has not been able to identify the
mines used as either antipersonnel or antivehicle; Human Rights Association,
“Human Rights Report 2003,” available at www.ihd.org.tr
. [47] “Explosion,”
Kathimerini, 3 November 2003. [48]
Response to Landmine Monitor, 30 May
2004. [49] Email from Mehmet Balci,
Geneva Call, 1 September 2004. [50]
Response to Landmine Monitor, 26 May 2004; Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p. 701.
The military casualties figure increased by four over previous
reports. [51] See Landmine Monitor
Report 2002, p. 759, and Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 914. Casualties in
2000 relate to three media reports in November 2000. No detailed information
was available in 1999 or 2000. [52]
Human Rights Association, “Human Rights Report
2002.” [53] Fax from Murat
Esenli, Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, 23 April 2003. Data for 2003
was unavailable. [54] Presentation by
Turkey, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic
Reintegration, Geneva, 13 May
2003. [55] Ibid; see also Landmine
Monitor Report 2003, p. 701, for statistics compiled by the Human Rights
Association in 2002. [56]
“Turkish Soldier Hurt in Afghan Mine Blast,” Reuters, 19 July
2002. [57] Letter from Murat Esenli,
Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, 29 January 2003; Statement by Turkey,
Fifth Meeting of States Parties, 15–19 September
2003. [58] Letter from Murat Esenli,
Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva, 29 January 2003; see Landmine Monitor
Report 2003, p. 702. [59] Response to
Landmine Monitor, 26 May 2004. [60]
See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 760, and Landmine Monitor Report 2003, p.
702. [61] See Landmine Monitor Report
2003, p. 702.
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