6 October 2020
For immediate release
TURKEY CONTINUES TO ATTACK LEGALLY ELECTED POLITICIANS
The past few days in Turkey have been marked by a wave of arrests of
politi ia s fro Peoples’ De o rati Party HDP , i ludi g the
Co-Mayors
of Kars, numerous former MPs, and members of the party council.
Proceedings to lift immunity are to be initiated against seven MPs. A trustee
appointed by the Interior Ministry immediately replaced the arrested Co-
Mayors of Kars.Trustees now govern 59 of the 65 municipalities that HDP
had won in the 2019 local elections. Most of the deposed co-mayors are
currently in jail. In the previous term, co-mayors were deposed in 96 of the
102 municipalities led by the HDP.
Any protest against the oppression of voters' will is responded by the state
with violence. Particularly in areas mainly inhabited by Kurds, repression,
military presence and fraud dominate the elections, although not only since
Erdogan and the AKP came to power. The re-run of the Istanbul municipal
ele tio s last year is part of "steali g ele tio s” a d ele toral fraud that has
been visible to the West.
The latest warrants of arrests included 82 current and former HDP officials.
The arrests were prompted by protests in solidarity with Kobane, the city
that became internationally known for its resistance against ISIS. At the time
when this happened, there were hundreds of arrests and convictions. Ayhan
Bilgen, the Co-Mayor of Kars, had lodged a constitutional complaint and
even received compensation.
In this context, it is certainly worth mentioning that the chief public
prosecutor of Ankara who ordered the arrests married a week earlier.
Witnesses to the marriage were, among others, the Minister of the Interior,
the Minister of Defense and the Chief of General Staff. Following the
ceremony, the couple visited the President in his palace to receive his
gift. This shows the close relationship that exists between Erdogan and the
chief prosecutor, which can be dated back to the time when Erdogan was
imprisoned in Istanbul.
It is not acceptable for a country to attack lawfully elected politicians, steel
elections and violate human rights on a daily basis. The EUTCC urges the
European Commission and the Council of Europe to take concrete measures
against Turkey immediately.
On behalf of the EUTCC board
Kariane Westrheim, Chairperson
Dersi Dağdevire , Board Me er
EU Turkey
Civic Commission
CONTACT:
Prof. Kariane Westrheim
Mobil: 004797642088
CHAIR
•
KARIANE WESTRHEIM, Professor at
University of Bergen, Norway
SECRETARY GENERAL
•
MICHAEL GUNTER, Professor at
Tennessee Technological University,
US
BOARD MEMBERS
•
DERSIM DAGDEVIREN, KURD-AKAD,
Germany
•
DR. JOOST JONGERDEN, Wageningen
University, Netherlands
•
DR. THOMAS JEFFREY MILEY,
Department of Sociology, Cambridge
University, UK
•
ESTELLA SCHMID, Peace in Kurdistan
Campaign, UK
PATRONS
•
ARCHBISHOP EMERITUS DESMOND
TUTU, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate,
South Africa
•
SHIRIN EBADI, Human Rights Lawyer
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Iran
•
BIANCA JAGGER, Council of Europe
Goodwill Ambassador, Chair of the
Bianca Jagger Human Rights
Foundation, UK
•
NOAM CHOMSKY, Laureate Professor
of Linguistics, University of Arizona
Departement of Linguistic, US
•
LEYLA ZANA, European Parliament's
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of
Thought, Rafto Prize Laureate, Turkey
•
BARONESS HELENA KENNEDY QC,
House of Lords, UK
•
CHRISTINE BLOWER, National
Education Union (NEU), International
Secretary, UK
•
MARY DAVIS, Visiting Professor of
Labour History, Royal Holloway,
University of London, UK
•
SIMON DUBBINS, UNITE International
Director, UK
•
JAMES KELMAN, Writer, UK
•
JONATHAN STEELE, Veteran foreign
correspondent and author, UK
•
DOUG NICHOLLS, General Secretary,
General Federation of Trade Unions,
UK