Newsletter

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please find below our current newsletter.

Kind regards

Prof. Kariane Westrheim
EUTCC Chairperson

19th EUTCC Conference – Final Resolution 

The Annual International Conference on the EU, Turkey, the Middle East and the Kurds was hosted by the EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) in cooperation with the Left Group, the Greens-European Free Alliance (GREENS/EFA) and the Groups of the Free Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) was successfully held on 26th and 27th of March 2025 in the European Parliament in Brussels. 

http://eutcc.net/?p=1997

Swedish journalist Joakim Medin has been arrested in Turkey after travelling to Istanbul to report on protests

He is facing charges of insulting the president and membership in a terrorist organisation. Turkish authorities have linked his case to a protest held in Stockholm in January 2023, during which a mock-up of Turkish President Erdoğan was displayed. 

Statement by Reporters Without Borders on the treatment of journalists covering the protests emerged after the arrest of the İstanbul mayor

We condemn in the strongest terms the violent crackdown on media professionals covering the protests in Turkey.

Newroz was celebrated in Diyarbakır with nearly a million people in attendance

Meanwhile, CHP Leader Özgür Özel, PUK Leader Bafel Talabani, KDP Leader Masoud Barzani, and Kurdistan Regional Government President Nechirvan Barzani also sent messages for Newroz.

Report on the targeting of civilians in NES by Turkey and the SNA

The information RIC has gathered presents a clear picture of intentional targeting of civilians and civil life by Turkey and the SNA, in North-East Syria in the period after the fall of Assad. 

EU Turkey Civic Commission

www.eutcc.net

Twitter: @EUTCC1

Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission

Our PR: Mr Öcalan’s statement: A Momentum for Peace and Democracy 

This momentum must be adequately recognised. The European Union and its institutions, in particular the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, should now make every effort to strengthen the process. This includes engagement to ensure that Abdullah Öcalan can freely practice his leadership role in the ongoing political process.

http://eutcc.net/?p=1981

Mr Öcalan’s Call for Peace and a Democratic Society 

Just as every contemporary organisation and party whose existence has not been forcibly ended would voluntarily do, gather your congress and take the decision to integrate with the state and society: all groups must lay down their arms, and the PKK must dissolve itself.

Human Rights Watch: Use Call to Halt Violence as Catalyst to End Right Abuses

The landmark call on February 27, 2025, to end a decades-long armed insurgency against the Turkish state should be a catalyst to end its abusive use of terrorism charges to criminalize and silence government critics including politicians, journalists, lawyers, and activists.

DEM Party’s Statement on wave of arrests against HDK 

AKP government is threatening Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK) and its components with baseless accusations and imprisonment. 

Statement by Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Co-Rapporteurs David Eray and Bryony Rudkin on the dismissal of Abdullah Zeydan, Mayor of Van and member of the Turkish delegation to the Congress

We reiterate our call to the Turkish authorities to stop this practice and resume the political dialogue with the Congress rapporteurs to ensure the effective implementation of past recommendations.

EU Turkey Civic Commission

www.eutcc.net

Twitter: @EUTCC1

Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission

Instagram: @eutcc1  

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please find below our current newsletter. 

Kind regards 

Prof. Kariane Westrheim 

Chairperson 

Statement by Human Rights Watch

A drone strike by the Türkiye-Syrian National Army (SNA) coalition that hit a Kurdish Red Crescent ambulance on January 18, 2025, in northern Syria is an apparent war crime

Statement by DEM Party’s İmralı delegation on their second meeting with Kurdish Political Leader Abdullah Öcalan

This process will help everyone, all of us, live together and freely. With the hope that this will be made possible, we look forward to the valuable contributions of all social segments.

Turkey records highest-ever femicide rate in 2024

Turkey’s We Will Stop Femicides Platform reported 394 femicides in 2024, the highest recorded. The group criticized government policies, highlighted rising rates, and called for action on gun control, impunity, and transparency in official femicide data.

BİA Media Monitoring 2024 Annual Report

The BİA Media Monitoring Report reveals that at least 25 journalists and five media outlets were attacked in 2024, while 82 media representatives, mostly from the MHP and affiliated political groups, were threatened in an environment of judicial inaction.

Turkey ranks 158th out of 180 countries in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). 

—
EU Turkey Civic Commission
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission
Instagram: @eutcc1

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please find below our current newsletter.

Kind regards

Prof. Kariane Westrheim

Chairperson

Our Press release “Towards a Democratic Syria: Stop Turkey’s Attacks & Involve Kurdish Administration in Political Processes”

In the context of Turkey’s attacks, unequivocal responses and sanctions are needed from the international community, above all a halt to arms deliveries and the suspension of agreements in the context of refugees. The intensification of instability affects the entire region, Islamism is a global threat.

PR:Towards a Democratic Syria: Stop Turkey’s Attacks & Involve Kurdish Administration in Political Processes

Statement by DEM MPs Pervin Buldan & Sırrı Süreyya Önder, on their meeting with PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan

This is an era of peace, democracy, and fraternity for Turkey and the region.

Statement by Amnesty International on the crackdown on peaceful dissent

Amnesty International is deeply concerned at the crackdown on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in Turkey following the reports of a drone strike attack resulting in the killing of Cihan Bilgin and Nazım Daştan, two Kurdish journalists from Turkey in north-east Syria on 19 December.

Statement by Human Rights Watch: Northeast Syria – Displacement Worsens Aid Crisis

Tens of thousands of civilians seeking safety in Kurdish-controlled northeast Syria are facing dire conditions due to the lack of adequate shelter, water, food, and health care.

—
EU Turkey Civic Commission
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission
Instagram: @eutcc1

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please find below our current newsletter. 

Kind regards 

Prof. Kariane Westrheim 

Chairperson 

Our statement: Doves of peace needed instead of hail of bombs

Turkey must immediately stop its attacks in Iraq and Syria, which violate international law. This requires condemnation, clear measures and immediate sanctions from the international community, above all the United Nations and the European Union, against Turkey. 

http://eutcc.net/?p=1824

Turkish Airstrikes on Northern Syria 

Update by the Rojava Information Center

Information note following the fact-finding visit of the Monitoring Committee

Co-rapporteurs: Mr Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC) and Ms Jill Mortimer (United Kingdom, EC/DA)

Statement by Human Rights Watch on EU’s migration support to Turkey 

While Turkey is engaged in summary deportations of Syrians and Afghans, the European Union continues to provide funds for migration management to Turkey. The EU should make sure its migration support to Turkey is not used to violate rights.

—
EU Turkey Civic Commission
www.eutcc.net
Twitter: @EUTCC1
Facebook: Eu Turkey Civic Commission
Instagram: @eutcc1