Author: EutccAdmin

Newsletter 11/2020

EutccAdmin

Cancellation of 17th EUTCC Conference The EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) strongly regrets that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not possible to conduct the Annual International Conference on the EU, Turkey, the Middle East and the Kurds held in the European Parliament, as planned. Instead, the EUTCC board has decided to organize a number of smaller digital seminars, roundtable debates and video interviews, which will be available on our homepage, the social media channels and on various listed websites. 

Cancellation of the 17th EUTCC Conference

Peace committees, platforms and the political ordering of society: Doing justice in the Federation of Northern and Eastern Syria (NES) – Article by our board member Prof. Joost Jongerden & Michael Knapp 
Conflict mediation has become an important feature of the justice system of the autonomous self-administration in Rojava and north and east Syria. This conflict mediation takes place mainly through peace committees and platforms. A main conclusion: the primary function of the peace committees and platforms is to institutionalise the new government model and give an ideological direction for the idea of a “good society”.
https://kurdishstudies.net/journal/ks/article/view/534

World Children’s Day
On the occasion of November 20 World Children’s Day, the Human Rights Association (İHD) Children’s Rights Commission has shared the rights violations faced by children during the pandemic: Earthquake, distance education, child labor.
https://m.bianet.org/english/children/234746-pandemic-in-turkey-violence-against-children-women-has-increased-by-27-8-percent

ICJ on arrest of lawyers The International Commission of Jurists expressed its deep concern at the arrest of some 26 lawyers and the investigation of around 100, including lawyers active in the defence of human rights, in South East Turkey.
https://www.icj.org/turkey-concern-over-arrest-of-lawyers-in-south-east-turkey/#.X7fStXEu2mg.twitter

HRW and Article19 on political crackdown against HDPJoint statement of Human Rights Watch and Article19 regarding political crackdown on HDP politicians 
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/11/19/turkey-opposition-politicians-detained-four-years
EU Turkey Civic Commission 
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission

Cancellation of the 17th EUTCC Conference

EutccAdmin

Announcement of cancellation of the 17th International Conference on EU Turkey the Middle East and the Kurds (December 2020)

The EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) strongly regrets that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not possible to conduct the Annual International Conference on the EU, Turkey, the Middle East and the Kurds held in the EU Parliament, as planned. Instead, the EUTCC board has decided to organize a number of smaller digital seminars, roundtable debates and video interviews, which will be available on our homepage, the social media channels and on various listed websites. In addition, at the end of the year we will publish a brochure with statements by politicians, scientists and journalists, which will summarise the developments in the context of our conference topics for 2020 and provide an outlook for the coming year.

The 17th EUTCC conference will be held when the situation allows. In the meantime, we hope to meet you at our alternative events in November and December 2020 and beyond the spring of 2021.

Sincerely yours

On behalf of the Board of the EUTCC
Kariane Westrheim & Dersim Dağdeviren

EU Turkey Civic Commission
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission

Newsletter 10/2020

EutccAdmin

PACE resolution on Turkey’s crackdown against opposition

PACE’s Standing Committee has strongly condemned new crackdowns on political opposition and civil dissent in recent months in Turkey and urged the Turkish authorities to “take meaningful steps” to improve standards in the field of democracy, rule of law and human rights

https://pace.coe.int/en/news/8067/pace-strongly-condemns-new-crackdowns-on-political-opposition-and-civil-dissent-in-turkey

Letter of MEPs to EP President concerning North-Syria

Following the report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic on war crimes in Northern Syria, 68 MEPs have written a letter to the EP president, demanding to form a special delegation of elected parliamentarians to travel to the regions of the Autonomous Administration of North-East Syria and calling on the Turkish military and their auxiliary forces to end their illegal occupation in North-Syria and retreat from the region.

Letter to EP President

EUTCC Statement on arrest of HDP politicians
It is not acceptable for a country to attack lawfully elected politicians, steel elections and violate human rights on a daily basis.
The EUTCC urges the European Commission and the Council of Europe to take concrete measures against Turkey immediately.

EUTCC Statement on HDP arrests

European Commission 2020 report on Turkey – Key findings

Despite the lifting of the state of emergency in July 2018, the adverse impacts of the two-year long emergency ruling continued to significantly impact on democracy and fundamental rights. The constitutional architecture continued centralising powers at the level of the Presidency without ensuring a sound and effective separation of powers between the executive, legislative and the judiciary. The situation in the south-east continued to be very worrying. Arrests and dismissals of elected mayors and party representatives continued and seriously damaged local democracy.

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/country_20_1791

Statement of Human Rights Watch on crackdown against HDP

“Detaining politicians from a party that won nearly 12 percent of the vote in the 2018 general election is part of the Turkish government’s policy to criminalize political opposition.”

https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/10/02/turkey-politicians-and-activists-detained

EU Turkey Civic Commission
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission

Letter to EP President

EutccAdmin

Following the report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic on war crimes in Northern Syria, 68 MEPs have written a letter to the EP president.  

Brussels, October 19, 2020

To M. Davide Sassoli,President of the European Parliament
M. Sassoli,
We, the Members of the European Parliament, take note of the recent United Nations Report of the Independent Internationale Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, which was presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on the 14th August 2020.
The report states that there are clear and evidential violations of human rights in North-Syria. These violations are (among others) conducted by the Turkish auxiliary forces such as “the Suleiman Shah Brigade”, “the Hamza Brigade” or “the Sultan Murad Brigade”. These groups hold power in the Afrin-Al Bab region as well as in the Tal Abyad-Serekaniye region.
Victims of these violations complain about various atrocities ranging from rape and sexual violence to abductions and extrajudicial killing etc. The, mostly Kurdish, victims who could flee from these atrocities are currently located in the regions of the Autonomous Administration of North-East Syria (AANES).
We demand that the Turkish government ceases its political, economic, and military support for all groups who are part of these systematic human rights violations. We are calling on the Turkish military and their auxiliary forces to end their illegal occupation in North-Syria and retreat from the region.
Therefore, we call on the President of the European Parliament to form a special delegation of elected parliamentarians to travel to the regions of the Autonomous Administration of North-East Syria as soon as the corona-related travel restrictions are lifted and health concerns while traveling no longer exist. The goal of sending a delegation on the spot is to gather further information on the situation, start a dialogue with the political body of the AANES, and to engage in talks with people who fled the contested areas under Turkish occupation. This would allow to investigate the UNHRC reports and to identify possible responsible figures of these atrocities, to start prosecutions within the framework of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Members of the European ParliamentALFONSI Francois (Greens/EFA); ANDREWS Barry (Renew); ARENA Maria (S&D); AUKEN Margrete (Greens/EFA); BARRENA Pernando (GUE/NGL); BELLAMY Francois-Xavier (EPP); BENIFEI Brando (S&D); BITEAU Benoit (Greens/EFA); BJÖRK Malin (GUE/NGL); BOMPARD Manuel (GUE/NGL); BRGLEZ Milan (S&D); BULLMANN Udo (S&D); CAREME Damien (Greens/EFA); CASTALDO Fabio Massimo (NI); CHAIBI Leila (GUE/NGL); CHRISTOFOROU Lefteris (EPP); CIUHODARU Tudor (S&D); COMIN I OLIVERES Antoni (NI); CORMAND David (Greens/EFA); DELBOS-CORFIELD Gwendoline (Greens/EFA); DELLI Karima (Greens/EFA); GEUKING Helmut (ECR); GRUFFAT Claude (Greens/EFA); GUSMÃO José (GUE/NGL); HAUTALA Heidi (Greens/EFA); HEIDE Hannes (S&D); INCIR Evin (S&D); JADOT Yannick (Greens/EFA); KAILI Eva (S&D); KANKO Assita (ECR); KIZILYÜREK Niyazi (GUE/NGL); KOKKALIS Petros (GUE/NGL); KONEČNÁ Kateřina (GUE/NGL); KÖSTER Dietmar (S&D); MANDL Lukas (PPE); MARQUARDT Erik (Greens/EFA); MATIAS Marisa (GUE/NGL); MAVRIDES Costas (S&D); MICHELS Martina (GUE/NGL); MODIG Silvia (GUE/NGL); PAPADAKIS Demetris (S&D); PAPADIMOULIS Dimitrios (GUE/NGL); PINEDA Manu (GUE/NGL); PONSATI Clara (NI); PUIGDEMONT Carles (NI); REGO Sira(GUE/NGL); RIBA I GINER Diana (Greens/EFA); RIVASI Michèle (Greens/EFA); RODRÍGUEZ PALOP Eugenia (GUE/NGL); ROOKMAKER Dorien (NI); ROOSE Caroline (Greens/EFA); SANTOS Isabel (S&D); SATOURI Mounir (Greens/EFA); SCHIEDER Andreas (S&D); SCHOLZ Helmut (GUE/NGL); SIDL Guenther (S&D); SINČIĆ Ivan Vilibor (NI); SMERIGLIO Massimiliano (S&D); SONNEBORN Martin (NI); STRIK Tineke (Greens/EFA); TOUSSAINT Marie (Greens/EFA); URBAN CRESPO Miguel (GUE/NGL); VANA Monika (Greens/EFA); VILLUMSEN Nikolaj (GUE/NGL); VOLLATH Bettina (S&D); YENBOU Salima (Greens/EFA); ŽDANOKA Tatjana (Greens/EFA); ZVER Milan (PPE)


EU Turkey Civic Commission 
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Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission

EUTCC Statement on HDP arrests

EutccAdmin

 TURKEY CONTINUES TO ATTACK LEGALLY ELECTED POLITICIANS 


The past few days in Turkey have been marked by a wave of arrests of politicians from Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), including the Co-Mayors of Kars, numerous former MPs, and members of the party council. Proceedings to lift immunity are to be initiated against seven MPs. A trustee appointed by the Interior Ministry immediately replaced the arrested Co-Mayors of Kars.Trustees now govern 59 of the 65 municipalities that HDP had won in the 2019 local elections. Most of the deposed co-mayors are currently in jail. In the previous term, co-mayors were deposed in 96 of the 102 municipalities led by the HDP. 
Any protest against the oppression of voters’ will is responded by the state with violence. Particularly in areas mainly inhabited by Kurds, repression, military presence and fraud dominate the elections, although not only since Erdogan and the AKP came to power. The re-run of the Istanbul municipal elections last year is part of “stealing elections” and electoral fraud that has been visible to the West. 
The latest warrants of arrests included 82 current and former HDP officials. The arrests were prompted by protests in solidarity with Kobane, the city that became internationally known for its resistance against ISIS. At the time when this happened, there were hundreds of arrests and convictions. Ayhan Bilgen, the Co-Mayor of Kars, had lodged a constitutional complaint and even received compensation.
In this context, it is certainly worth mentioning that the chief public prosecutor of Ankara who ordered the arrests married a week earlier. Witnesses to the marriage were, among others, the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Defense and the Chief of General Staff. Following the ceremony, the couple visited the President in his palace to receive his gift. This shows the close relationship that exists between Erdogan and the chief prosecutor, which can be dated back to the time when Erdogan was imprisoned in Istanbul.
It is not acceptable for a country to attack lawfully elected politicians, steel elections and violate human rights on a daily basis. The EUTCC urges the European Commission and the Council of Europe to take concrete measures against Turkey immediately. 


On behalf of the EUTCC board
Kariane Westrheim, ChairpersonDersim Dağdeviren, Board Member  

EU Turkey Civic Commission 
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission