The conference set for December 2008\nwas moved to early 2009. In the 2008 the security situation in\nTurkey remained poor. There was an increase in Turkish military operations\nin the Kurdish region and against PKK bases in Kurdistan Iraq, there were a\nnumber of attacks that killed civilians, including a bombing that left 17 dead\nin Istanbul, and the conflict between the PKK and the Turkish State\nintensified. Additionally, there were periods of\ncivil unrest, in particular in the Kurdish region in response to the alleged\nill-treatment of Abdullah \u00d6calan, leader of the PKK, who is the sole inmate of\nthe prison on Imrali Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\nremain serious concerns that Turkey has not made enough progress in the areas\nof rights and democracy. Although the amendment of Article 301 of the Penal Code\nwas welcomed, concerns persist that these amendments are insuffcient and superficial.\nThe Final Resolutions from the Fourth International Conference on EU, Turkey,\nand the Kurds noted that \u2018no major issue [had] been addressed and significant problems\npersist,\u2019 especially with regards to Turkey\u2019s obligations under the European Convention\non Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, military activities of the\nstate, and democratically supported dialogue between all peoples constituting\nthe Turkish Republic. Turkey\u2019s military activities continue\nunchecked, with no promise of a democratic resolution to the\nongoing conflict in the Kurdish region and no impetus from\nthe EU to end military activities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The conference set for December 2008 was moved to early 2009. In the 2008 the security situation in Turkey remained poor. There was an increase in Turkish military operations in the Kurdish region and against PKK bases in Kurdistan Iraq,… Continue reading