Dear Sir or Madam, Please find below our monthly newsletter. The latest developments in Turkey around human rights, democracy and the Covid pandemic can be found as a daily summary on our social media channels Twitter and Facebook and as a weekly summary on our homepage.
Kind regards Prof. Kariane Westrheim Chairperson
EUTCC Commentary #9 Written by Prof. Hasan AydinHuman Rights Jeopardized in Turkey: Governmental and Judicial Intentions to Erode Due Process and the Right to a Fair Trial
Murder case of HDP member Deniz Poyraz Türkan Aslan, an attorney for Deniz Poyraz, who was killed in the HDP İzmir Office, says that the Historical Traffic Search (HTS) records of the armed assailant’s phone shows that he was not acting alone.
Dear Sir or Madam, Please find below our monthly newsletter. Kind regards Prof. Kariane Westrheim Chairperson
EUTCC Commentary #7 & #8Written by Prof. Baskın Oran #7: Minorities in Turkey I: Law and Reform#8: Minorities in Turkey II: Ideology and Discrimination http://eutcc.net/?p=799
Statement by HDP Foreign Affairs Commission Co-spokespersons Feleknas Uca & Hişyar Özsoy on the rassist attack in Konya which claimed the life of seven members of the family We call on the international community to increase its solidarity with the HDP and the Kurds, as the attacks on us are very much on the rise and becoming even deadlier.
Turkish-backed rebels leave trail of abuse and criminality in Syria’s AfrinThe serene topography of the Syrian enclave of Afrin belies the power vacuum and violence now afflicting many of the territories under the control of Turkish-backed forces in the war-torn country’s northeast.
Turkey uses child soldiers U.S. State Department added Turkey to a list of governments implicated in the use of child soldiers. For the first time a NATO ally was listed.
Dear Sir or Madam, Please find below our monthly newsletter. Kind regards Prof. Kariane Westrheim Chairperson
Letter to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres We hope that you as United Nations Secretary-General will step up your efforts to support the interests of the people in the Makhmour refugee camp and, along with it, find a political solution to the Kurdish question which is crucial for peace in the entire Middle East.
Urgent EUTCC Debate “US – Turkey Relations: The Makhmour Refugee Camp as a Litmus Test in the Context of Human Rights and International Law versus Interest Politics”, 13 June 2021
The speakers: Nadine Maenza, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, USA David Phillips, Director of Peace-Building and Human Rights Programme, Institute for the Study of Human Rights, Columbia University, USA
Bewar Ünver, Foreign relations committee of Makhmour refugee camp Kariane Westrheim, EUTCC Chairperson, University of Bergen, Norway Moderator: Meghan Bodette, independent researcher focusing on Kurdish issues, USAhttps://youtu.be/bT61Noi5yNo
EUTCC Commentary #5 & #6Written by our Secretary-General Prof. Michael Gunter, Tennesse Technological University on Turkey’s dealing with the Syrian Kurds #5: This wide-ranging survey of the Kurds in Syria will evaluate the mid-term fall-out of the suddenly announced US withdrawal on October 7, 2019. http://eutcc.net/?p=764
#6: This Commentary survey’s Turkey’s interaction with Syria’s surprisingly influential Kurds and explores the Turkish-US confrontation over the US support of the Syrian Kurds against ISIS. http://eutcc.net/?p=767
Statement by HDP Foreign Affairs Commission Co-spokespersons Feleknas Uca & Hişyar Özsoy on Constitutional Court’s decision to accept the indictment seeking the party’s closure “We once again invite the international democratic community to express solidarity and to act against these unabashed efforts to destroy the HDP and deny the will of millions.”
European Council conclusions on external relations regarding Turkey, 24 June 2021“Rule of law and fundamental rights in Turkey remain a key concern. The targeting of political parties, human rights defenders and media represents major setbacks for human rights and runs counter to Turkey’s obligations to respect democracy, the rule of law and women’s rights. Dialogue on such issues remains an integral part of the EU-Turkey relationship.
Statement on Turkish army’s military offensive against the territory of KRG40 days ago, the Turkish Armed Forces launched another large-scale military offensive against the territory of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) – Iraq. As EUTCC, we strongly condemn this military offensive and occupation, which is contrary to international law. http://eutcc.net/?p=747
European Parliament resolution of 19 May 2021 on the 2019-2020 Commission Reports on Turkey The European Parliament strongly condemns the Turkish military interventions in Syria, which constitute grave violations of international law and risk undermining the stability and security of the region as a whole; calls on the Government of Turkey to end its illegal occupation of northern Syria and Afrin and to withdraw its military and paramilitary proxy forces; reiterates that security concerns cannot justify unilateral military action in a foreign country; recalls that there can be no sustainable military solution to the Idlib issue, but only a political one; expresses great concern about and strongly condemns the transfer of fighters and mercenaries from jihadist groups located in northern Syria to Libya and to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh; calls on the Turkish authorities to create the right conditions for displaced communities within Syria to return to their homes and allow them to do so.
EUTCC Commentaries #4By David L Phillips, Director of Peace-Building and Human Rights Programme, Columbia UniversityExecutive Summary: President Joe Biden recognized atrocities committed against Armenians as the Armenian Genocide in his statement on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day (24 April 2021). The statement represents a watershed moment in US-Turkey relations. President Tayyip Erdogan can address US and international concerns prior to the Biden-Erdogan summit on the margin of June’s NATO meeting, or he can double down and intensify repression against Turkey’s ethnic and religious minorities. Erdogan’s course will define international relations prior to the centennial of the founding of the Turkish republic in 2023.
Declaration of solidarity with the HDP and against the criminalisation of Kobani’s resistance The Bureau of the Kurdish Friendship Group in the European Parliament, François Alfonsi (Greens/EFA), Andreas Schieder (S&D), Nikolaj Villumsen (GUE/NGL) and leaders of the European Political Parties: Heinz Bierbaum (President of the Party of the European Left) Evelyne Huytebroeck and Thomas Waitz (Co-chairs of the European Green Party), Lorena Lopez de Lacalle (President of the European Free Alliance) and Sergei Stanishev (leader of the PES – Party of European Socialists) issued a joint declaration.
First hearing of Kobane Trial The first hearing of the “Kobanî trial” started at the Ankara 22nd Heavy Penal Court in Sincan Campus on April 26. There are 108 defendants from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP); while 28 people have been arrested pending trial, there are judicial control measures on six and warrants against 75 people. Facing charges over the “Kobanî protests of October 6-8” in 2014, the politicians face a life sentence aggravated for 38 times each.
PACE urgent debate on the functioning of democratic institutions in Turkey PACE calls on the Turkish authorities “to put an end to laws and practices that contravene democratic standards”
CoE Committee of Ministers supervision of the execution of the Court’s judgment in Kavala case The ministers urge the authorities once again to ensure Osman Kavala’s immediate release and affirm their readiness, if necessary, to actively consider all means at their disposal to ensure implementation of the judgment.
Our statement on the occasion of Kobani Trial of 108 people, including arrested HDP former Co-Chairs Figen Yüksekdağ & Selahattin Demirtaş The EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) expresses its solidarity and support with the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the third-largest party in Turkey’s parliament and a party which, in sharp contrast to the AKP-MHP alliance, represents the core values of humanity: unity across dividers, cultural, religious and gender diversity and which pursues its policies by democratic means. Despite this, the HDP is threatened with closure and extensive arrests of members and parliamentarians. In 2014 HDP called on the international community to join hands in the legitimate protest for Kobane. Now seven years later, 26 April, 108 HDP members stand before trial accused of having encouraged incitement and violence in connection with the party’s call for support for the resistance in Kobane. Everyone who rallies under the flag of civil and political rights, must support HDP’s struggle for a reversal of the political system in Turkey, which has been backsliding into authoritarianism. The EUTCC stands by HDP in this struggle and urges all democratic forces to do the same. The EUTCC also urges the international community and parliamentarians around the world to stand up and call for the release of all political prisoners in Turkey, including Selahattin Demirtas and hundreds of other imprisoned HDP representatives.
Commentaries on EU – Turkey relations
Commentary #1 “You sleep with the devil; you wake up in hell!”: On the new EU-Turkey Deal, by Nikos Christofis http://eutcc.net/?p=610
Commentary #2 Playing politics with the plight of refugees. How the EU went into Erdogan’s political receivership, by Dr. Naif Bezwan and Dr. Janroj Yilmaz Keles http://eutcc.net/?p=610
Commentary #3: Merkel’s positive agenda has collapsed before it started, by Prof. Dr. Cengiz Aktar http://eutcc.net/?p=656
EU Turkey Civic Commission www.eutcc.net Twitter: @EUTCC1 Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission
