Newsletter

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please find below our monthly newsletter.
Kind regards 
Prof. Kariane Westrheim Chairperson 

EUTCC Commentaries #11 by Dr. Arzu Yılmaz: What Will Happen to the Kurds if the US Withdraws from Syria and Iraq?The future of the Kurds in Iraq and Syria after a US withdrawal has already begun to take shape. The containment of Kurdish political and military cross‐border mobility has been achieved to some extent by paving the way for Turkey’s military operations; it is now contingent on the recomposition of a desired ‘favorable balance of power” to fill the power vacuum in the Middle East. With an aggressive Turkish stance in the region, however, neither this containment policy nor the efforts made toward themaintenance of the “favorable balance of power” can be successful.

http://eutcc.net/?p=875
Key findings of the European Commission’s Report on Turkey There are serious deficiencies in the functioning of Turkey’s democratic institutions. Democratic backsliding continued during the reporting period. Structural deficiencies of the presidential system remained in place. Key recommendations of the Council of Europe and its bodies remain to be addressed. The Parliament continued to lack the necessary means to hold the government accountable. The constitutional architecture continued to centralise powers at the level of the Presidency without ensuring a sound and effective separation of powers between the executive, legislative and the judiciary. 

Statement by European Parliament’s Turkey Rapporteur Nacho Sánchez Amor and Chair of the Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Sergey Lagodinsky on Erdoğan’s order to declare 10 ambassadors ‘persona non grata’
The measures announced by President Erdoğan against 10 ambassadors over their statement on the ongoing persecution of businessman Osman Kavala are incomprehensible and completely baseless. 

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20211025IPR15735/turkey-a-serious-diplomatic-crisis-that-can-still-be-avoided
EU Turkey Civic Commission
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Dear Sir or Madam,
Please find below our monthly newsletter.
Kind regards 

Prof. Kariane Westrheim Chairperson 

EUTCC Commentary #10Written by Harun Ercan Authoritarianism from Above and Below: Exclusive Nationalism and the Turkish‐Kurdish Conflict

HDP Declaration Peoples’ Democratic Party Co-Chairs Pervin Buldan and Prof. Dr. Mithat Sancar announced the declaration “Call for Justice, Democracy and Peace”HDP calls for a democratic constitution based on equal citizenship with respect towards different cultures, identities, faiths and native languages, ways of life and a secular way of life.
https://hdpeurope.eu/2021/09/hdp-let-us-win-together-we-call-for-justice-democracy-and-peace/

CoE’s Committee of Ministers supervisions of the execution of ECtHR’s judgments in Kavala and Demirtaş casesThe Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has reiterated its call for the release of Osman Kavala and Selahattin Demirtaş. 
Osman Kavala:https://search.coe.int/cm/pages/result_details.aspx?objectid=0900001680a3c4d0

Selahattin Demirtaş: https://search.coe.int/cm/pages/result_details.aspx?objectid=0900001680a3c4da

Statement by CoE Commissioner for Human Rights on prolongation of Osman Kavala’s detention Dunja Mijatovic: The prolongation of detention of Osman Kavala displays contempt for human rights and the rule of law 

EU Turkey Civic Commission
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Twitter: @EUTCC1
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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.

Solitary confinement on Imrali prison island continues Attorney of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan: 251 unanswered applications since August 2019 
http://mezopotamyaajansi35.com/en/ALL-NEWS/content/view/143226

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

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.

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

Vorschau für YouTube-Video “Urgent EUTCC Debate” ansehen

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.

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

Vorschau für YouTube-Video “Urgent EUTCC Debate” ansehen