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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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 www.eutcc.net Twitter: @EUTCC1 Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission
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
Statement on the ECtHR President’s honorary doctorate We published a statement on the honorary doctorate the ECtHR President Robert Spano received from İstanbul University during his visit to Turkey: The EUTCC strongly dissociates itself from the fact that the President of the European Court of Human Rights receives an honorary doctorate from a member state that largely violates human rights. The EUTCC takes this occasion to remind all those who champion the cause of human rights about its perilous condition today in Turkey. http://eutcc.net/?p=402
Resolution of the European Parliament on Turkey in the context of the Eastern Mediterranean conflict
Resolution of the European Parliament on the preparation of the special European Council Summit on the dangerous escalation and the role of Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean: The EP condemns Turkey’s illegal activities in the continental shelf/EEZ of Greece and Cyprus, which violate the sovereign rights of EU Member States and expresses its full solidarity with Greece and Cyprus; urges Turkey to engage in the peaceful settlement of disputes and to refrain from any unilateral and illegal action or threat, as that could have a negative impact on good neighbourly relations. The EP xpresses serious concerns about the current state of EU-Turkey relations, mainly regarding the dire human rights situation in Turkey and the erosion of democracy and the rule of law; underlines the past and present negative impacts of Turkey’s unilateral foreign policy initiatives in the wider region.
Report of UN Syria Commission on Syria The UN Syria Commission released a report on Syria. The report lists war crimes committed in the areas under Turkish occupation (in both the Afrin and Ra’s al-Ayn regions): pillage, hostage-taking, unlawful deportation, cruel treatment, torture and rape. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=26237&LangID=E
Call of Chief of UN Human Rights to Turkey
Michelle Bachelet, Chief of UN Human Rights, calls on Turkey to respect international law and halt violations committed by armed groups under Turkey’s control, including killings, kidnapping, forcible evictions, seizures of land and unlawful transfers. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26258&LangID=E
Statement on Turkish Intelligence Organisation’s plans to attack Austrian politicians We published a statement on Turkish Intelligence Organisation’s plans to attack Austrian politicians. It was revealed that an agent of the Turkish Intelligence Organisation (MIT) had turned himself in to the Austrian intelligence service where he reported on plans to attack Austrian politicians criticising the policies of the Turkish government. Among those affected are former members of Austrian Parliament Berivan Aslan and Peter Pilz as well as S&D MEP Andreas Schieder. The EUTCC express solidarity with all affected. http://eutcc.net/?p=405
HDP statement on wave of arrest Statement by Peoples’ Democratic Party HDP on wave of arrest against the HDP on 25 September. As part of an investigation carried out by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s office, detention warrants have been issued against 82 people, mostly HDP politicians/officials. https://hdpeurope.eu/2020/09/82-more-arrests-the-onslaught-on-the-hdp-continues-unabashedly/
EU Turkey Civic Commission www.eutcc.net Twitter: @EUTCC1 Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission
