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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.

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.

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
5. 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. 2: 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/

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

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

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

On the occasion of the infomal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Berlin at the end of August, where relations with Turkey are on the agenda, we sent a letter to HR/VP Josep Borrell to draw the attention to the need for effective measures to counter the damaging policy of Turkey.

August 15 2020

Joseph Borrell
HR/VP of the European Commission
Rue de la loi 200 / Wetstraat 200
1040 Brussels, Belgium

Dear Mr. Borrell,

Some weeks ago, a meeting was held between the High Representative/ Vice-President of the European Commission and the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and a further meeting is scheduled for the end of this month. Turkey was the central topic at the meeting of EU foreign ministers in July. Before that, July 7, the EUTCC sent a letter to your office in which we respectfully hoped to draw your attention to the recent deplorable Turkish disregard for human rights, democracy and international law. With reference to the forthcoming meeting, we would like to make some recommendations for action.

In addition to increasing military activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and in Libya, as well as interventions in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Turkey has intensified its attacks on the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq, contrary to international law. These have cost the lives of numerous civilians. Turkey is also militarily active in northern and eastern Syria, both directly and through jihadist militias. Compliance with international law must be enforced here as a matter of urgency. The European Union’s support and recognition of the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria, which is characterized by grassroots democracy, gender equality and ethnic and religious pluralism, would be an important step towards peace in the region.

However, peace is not possible without a political solution to the Kurdish question in Turkey. Here, the European Union can and should play a key role. In talks with members of the Turkish Government, this important aspect needs to be given greater weight. A peaceful solution to the Kurdish question is directly linked to the democratization of Turkey. In addition to dialogue with the government, an exchange with the democratic opposition is indispensable, especially The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which is massively affected by state repression. It is unacceptable that dozens of elected officials and hundreds of HDP functionaries are imprisoned and that elected officials are dismissed on a daily basis.

The issue of refugees also plays a key role in relations with Turkey. In the context of the European Union’s priority of combating the causes of flight, the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria is a reliable partner in the region.

The EUTCC urges the High Representative/Vice-President of the European Commission, the European Union to use power by taking effective measures to counter the damaging policy of Turkey. We do not call for an end to dialogue but using that dialogue in a more focused manner in accordance with democratic values.
Respectfully yours,

Kariane Westrheim, Chairperson

Dersim Dagdeviren, Board Member

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

Press Release
For immediate release 6 August, 2020

New CPT reports on Turkey

The Council of Europe’s anti-Torture Committee (CPT) recently published two reports on prison’s conditions in Turkey. CPT’s visit in May 2019 to Turkey was to examine the treatment and safeguards afforded to persons detained by law enforcement agencies. On the same visit, the delegation went to Imrali F-type High-Security Prison (Imrali Prison). CPT’s goal was to examine the treatment and conditions of detention of the Kurdish political leader Abdullah Öcalan, as well as other prisoners held there in order to review the measures taken by the Turkish authorities in the light of the recommendations made by the CPT after the visit April 2016.

CPT has found that the situation regarding the prisoners’ regime had not improved at all since CPT’s last visit in 2016. All prisoners on the island were still being held in solitary confinement most of the time, which CPT found unacceptable. No visits by lawyers had been granted since July 2011 and hardly any visits by family members had taken place since October 2014. This is obviousely in contrast to various relevant international human rights instruments and standards.

In 2011, UN Special Rapporteur Juan E. Méndez also concluded in his report on solitary confinement that indefinite and prolonged solitary confinement amount to torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.

For 16 years, the EUTCC has organized annual international conferences in the European Parliament, focusing on the Kurdish question and democratic processes in Turkey. The final resolution of each conference urge the European Union, the United States, the international community and all democratic forces to use their political influence to encourage Turkey to find a peaceful, political solution to the Kurdish question. Furthermore, each conference call upon the EU member states, European institutions and the United Nations to take diplomatic, political and legal measures to compel Turkey to comply with international law concerning the ongoing isolation of Abdullah Öcalan. Concerning the Covid pandemic, special attention should be paid to Imrali Island and Abdullah Öcalan. Much can take place under the guise of Covid 19, such as sudden illness and death. Therefore, it is of crucial importance to have constant attention on Mr. Öcalan’s prison conditions.

The EUTCC agrees with CPT’s findings and will refer to these reports in order to refocus attention to some aspects that are not only relevant for human rights in general, but also in the context of a political solution to the Kurdish question and democratization of Turkey in particular.
EUTCC urge the Turkish government immediately to release Abdullah Öcalan and to return to dialogue and peaceful negotiations for a political solution to the Kurdish question. A solution of the Kurdish question is essential in order to achieve peace in the entire Middle East.

On behalf of the EUTCC Board

Kariane Westrheim
Chairperson

Dersim Dagdeviren
Board member