EUU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 185: Kopi af URU alm. del - bilag 59: henvendelse af 2/12-20 fra EUTCC til the European Council - Press release

Europaudvalget 2020-21
EUU Alm.del Bilag 185
Offentligt

Udenrigsudvalget 2020-21

URU Alm.del - Bilag 59

Offentligt

President of the European Council

Mr. Charles Michel

Dear Mr. President,

The EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) welcomes the increasingly

critical attitude of the international

community towards Turkey’s President

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AKP-MHP government. The chorus of

criticism, demands, and recommendations regarding Turkey share the

common theme

–

there is a strong and ongoing erosion of democracy within

Turkey, and the Turkish leadership and government, through its actions

within the country’s borders and abroad, systematically abuse and disregard

international law and human rights conventions. Turkey has long ceased to

be a constitutional state, and the country’s judicial,

legislative, and executive

powers are now under Erdogan’s unchecked control. Erdogan and the AKP-

MHP government have shown themselves to be a threat not only to Turkey’s

citizens but also to neighboring states and the broader region, with Turkey

now acting as a major destabilizing force in various countries.

Although Turkey is a member of the European Council, NATO, and the

OSCE, and a candidate for membership of the European Union, the AKP-

MHP government constantly violates the rules and guidelines of these

organizations. In the recent past, all these organizations have been forced to

hold several meetings and pass various resolutions concerning Turkey’s

actions, with these steps only to be ignored by Erdogan and his government.

The EUTCC strongly believes that urgent action must be taken, otherwise

Turkey’s destabilizing policies will create new conflicts and deepen ongoing

strife.

The Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) of the Council of Europe

published two reports on Turkey on 5 August 2020, including a discussion of

the conditions of the Imrali Island prison where Kurdish political leader

Abdullah Öcalan has been held since 1999. The CPT noted that the treatment

of prisoners at Imrali had not improved since the organization’s 2016 visit

and asserted that

“such a state of affairs is not acceptable and clearly

contravenes various relevant international human rights instruments and

standards.”

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Standing

Committee has strongly

condemned Turkey’s new crackdowns on political

opposition and civil dissent over recent months and urged the Turkish

authorities to “take meaningful steps” to improve standards in the fields of

democracy, rule of law and human rights.

Over a period of just two months, the European Parliament (EP) passed two

resolutions regarding Turkey’s expansionism and intervention in the

Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus and criticized the Turkish government for

human rights abuses within the country. The EP highlighted that Turkey, as

a member state, stands in opposition to the rules of the NATO. The first report

was issued on 17th September 2020, and the second on 26th November 2020.

EU Turkey

Civic Commission

CONTACT:

Prof. Kariane Westrheim

Mobil: 004797642088

[email protected]

CHAIR



KARIANE WESTRHEIM, Professor at

University of Bergen, Norway

SECRETARY GENERAL



MICHAEL GUNTER, Professor at

Tennessee Technological University,

BOARD MEMBERS



DERSIM DAGDEVIREN, KURD-AKAD,

Germany



DR. JOOST JONGERDEN, Wageningen

University, Netherlands



DR. THOMAS JEFFREY MILEY,

Department of Sociology, Cambridge

University, UK



ESTELLA SCHMID, Peace in Kurdistan

Campaign, UK

PATRONS



ARCHBISHOP EMERITUS DESMOND

TUTU, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate,

South Africa



SHIRIN EBADI, Human Rights Lawyer

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Iran



BIANCA JAGGER, Council of Europe

Goodwill Ambassador, Chair of the

Bianca Jagger Human Rights

Foundation, UK



NOAM CHOMSKY, Laureate Professor

of Linguistics, University of Arizona

Departement of Linguistic, US



LEYLA ZANA, European Parliament's

Sakharov Prize for Freedom of

Thought, Rafto Prize Laureate, Turkey



BARONESS HELENA KENNEDY QC,

House of Lords, UK



CHRISTINE BLOWER, National

Education Union (NEU), International

Secretary, UK



MARY DAVIS, Visiting Professor of

Labour History, Royal Holloway,

University of London, UK



SIMON DUBBINS, UNITE International

Director, UK



JAMES KELMAN, Writer, UK



JONATHAN STEELE, Veteran foreign

correspondent and author, UK



DOUG NICHOLLS, General Secretary,

General Federation of Trade Unions,

EUU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 185: Kopi af URU alm. del - bilag 59: henvendelse af 2/12-20 fra EUTCC til the European Council - Press release - EUCO Meeting 10-11 Dec.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has decided for the release of prominent politicians and

activists including Osman Kavala and Selahattin Demirtas and has repeatedly called on the Turkish

government to implement these decisions. Although the Committee of Ministers of the Council of

Europe has urged Turkey to implement the court orders of ECHR, the Turkish government has insisted

on disregarding these rulings.

Persecution of the members of the pro-Kurdish

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) continues unabated.

The Council of Europe’s independent legal experts of the Venice Commission and the Congress of Local

and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe recently called on Turkey to repeal decisions to sack

pro-Kurdish mayors, which it said had undermined democratic self-government in southeast Turkey. At

present, government trustees occupy the positions of a total of 48 out of 65 municipalities won by the

HDP in the March 2019 local elections. Furthermore, the HDP Local Administrations Commission

reported that 84 municipal council members and 9 provincial general assembly members have been

dismissed. Of the 37 co-mayors detained, 18 are still under arrest. According to the data prepared by the

Legal Commission of the HDP, 22,321 HDP members were detained from 24 June 2015 to 25 September

2020. The number of those imprisoned during the first two years of this period alone was 3,647.

Earlier this year, the AKP-MHP government discussed plans to withdraw Turkey from the Istanbul

Convention on domestic violence against women. Indeed, increased persecution of women and

feminicide have become central policies of the Turkish government, manifested in various ways. The

prohibition of women’s marches and arrest of women’s rights defenders are hallmarks of the

misogyny

of the AKP-MHP government. Rapes committed by members of the Turkish Armed Forces in Kurdish

areas go unpunished, and Kurdish women’s organizations are under constant threat of arbitrary closure.

Erdogan’s actions are also placing Christian communities in greater peril. Turkey’s Christian minority

has faced increased intimidation following Erdogan’s decision to convert Hagia Sophia back into a

mosque, and Turkey’s participation in the Armenia-Azerbaijan

conflict has fanned the flames of anti-

Christian hatred, with Armenian Christian communities within Turkey and abroad being targeted by

radicalized, fascist supporters of the AKP and MHP.

Turkey’s various campaigns of military aggression and unprovoked intervention in Syria, Iraq, Libya,

Cyprus, the Mediterranean, and Armenia-Azerbaijan have forced NATO, the Arab League, the EU, the

OSCE, the UN to continuously focus on de-escalation. The current Turkish AKP-MHP government aim

to create chaos, destabilizing the region and exacerbating existing conflicts.

On 15 September 2020, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria reported on

numerous war crimes committed by armed groups under Turkey’s control in areas of Syria under

Turkish occupation. These include, among others, the Kurdish

regions of Afrin and Serekaniye/Ra’s al-

Ayn, and called for Turkey to take action against these armed groups, who have been implicated in

kidnappings, torture, and looting of civilian property and potentially unlawful deportation. Furthermore,

Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that violations and abuses in

areas under the control of Turkish-affiliated armed groups is rife, and called for the Turkish authorities

to act.

Turkish air strikes and drone attacks on Kurdish regions in Iraq and Syria continue, often using the

unconvincing pretext of targeting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). These attacks routinely kill

civilians, destroying homes and farmland, and forcing people from their homes. The Kurdish question

is at the core of his anti-democratic stance and disregard for international law.

It is obvious that the Turkish government will continue to disregard the decisions, calls, and

implementation of resolutions of any international legislative, judicial, or executive institutions. Within

Turkey, no such institutions with a degree of independence from Erdogan even exist. Turkey’s strongly

centralized, authoritarian regime has no checks or balances within Turkey, and any forces of opposition

face intimidation, detention, or violence.

EUU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 185: Kopi af URU alm. del - bilag 59: henvendelse af 2/12-20 fra EUTCC til the European Council - Press release - EUCO Meeting 10-11 Dec.

The EUTCC believes that the time has come for the EU and its institutions to take serious measures

against the current Turkish government, as criticism and recommendations so far have had no effect.

The AKP rose to power backed by the EU, who initially viewed Erdogan and his party as a model of

what many referred to as “moderate Islam” and many believed that Erdogan and the AKP would be

pioneers in the spread of moderate Islam across the Middle East. However, particularly after the

beginning of the Arab Spring protests and the outbreak of the ongoing conflict in Syria, Erdogan and

the AKP openly embraced authoritarianism, radicalism, and a policy of military expansionism. 18 years

after the

AKP’s rise to power, there is nothing left that could be considered moderate Islam, and no

desire by the AKP to protect any sort of democratic framework. Rather, the AKP and its leader have

assumed a leading role as a force of militant pan-Islamism, eliminating any vestiges of democracy within

Turkey and actively destabilizing countries throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. Now,

the only option left for addressing the authoritarianism and aggression of Erdogan and the AKP is a

comprehensive program of legal, political, and economic sanctions.

Based on this letter and the international calls, decisions and resolutions for peace and democracy in

Turkey, the EUTCC calls upon the EU member states and the European institutions to:

Take diplomatic, political and legal measures to compel Turkey’s AKP-MHP

government to

comply with international law by immediately and unconditionally withdrawing all Turkish military

forces currently active outside of Turkey, and end Turkish military intervention and incursions into

Syria, Iraq, Libya, Cyprus, the Caucasus,

and areas of the Mediterranean Sea outside of Turkey’s

recognized maritime borders. As a first step, we call for the suspension of the Customs Union agreement

between the EU and Turkey and a halt to all arms exports to Turkey.

Assert that the resolution of the Kurdish question is essential to the establishment of a stable,

democratic and peaceful Turkey, as the Kurdish question is one of Turkey’s primary internal issues

and,

with ongoing Turkish military incursions into Syria and Iraq, an important external issue as well. An

EU initiative for a political dialogue process between the Turkish government and Kurdish forces should

be initiated as soon as possible.

Enable Abdullah Öcalan to participate in a political dialogue process with the Turkish

government.

4. The lifting of all restrictions on Kurdish parties and representatives, in light of the decisions of the

European Court of Justice and the Belgian Court of Cassation finding that the PKK is not a terrorist

organization, is a vital step that can be taken to facilitate a process aimed at achieving peace.

Urge Turkey to release all political prisoners including elected officials and members of the

HDP, to respect the decision of the electorate, and to reinstitute the mayors who have been replaced by

the government-appointed trustees.

Yours sincerely

Prof. Dr. Kariane Westrheim

EUTCC Chairperson

Reports

Nr. 1: CPT: https://www.coe.int/en/web/cpt/-/council-of-europe-anti-torture-committee-publishes-two-

reports-on-turkey

Nr.

https://pace.coe.int/en/news/8067/pace-strongly-condemns-new-crackdowns-on-political-

opposition-and-civil-dissent-in-turkey

Nr. 3: UN report

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=26237&LangID=E

https://hdpeurope.eu/2020/11/over-22-thousand-hdp-members-arrested-since-2015/

EUU, Alm.del - 2020-21 - Bilag 185: Kopi af URU alm. del - bilag 59: henvendelse af 2/12-20 fra EUTCC til the European Council - Press release - EUCO Meeting 10-11 Dec.