Press release
For immediate release 12 December 2020
EUTCC o
Turkey
e t o the Europea Cou il’s fi al o lusio s 11 De e
er –
on
The European Council imposed limited sanctions on Turkey in relation to its
resumption of oil and gas drilling in EU member states' territorial waters. In a
press release from last Friday, December 11, the European leaders condemn
Turkey s pro o ati e a tivities
and escalated rhetoric against the European Union,
its member states and European leaders.
Though o a ollisio ourse for se eral years already, Turkey s preside t Erdogan
had further escalated his rhetoric against several EU member states over the
last fe
o ths. He oasted a out Turkey s ilitary po er to ha ge the ap
with Greece and Cyprus and said the French President Emmanuel Macron
needed mental health treatment.
It is expected that in the coming weeks the EU sanctions regime against Turkey
ill i lude additio al i di iduals a d o pa ies fro Turkey s e ergy se tor
involved in oil and gas drilling in Greek and Cypriote territorial waters. In a first
response,
Turkey s ruli g party s spokes a
Ömer Çelik wrote on Twitter that the
Europea Cou il s de isio s are iased a d u la ful.
Though at first sight the o lusio s of the Europea Cou il s eeti g suggest
the EU leader showed their muscles, the same leaders reaffirmed in the same
conclusions their political determination and financial commitment to continue
the so-called refugee deal with Turkey. Referred to as financial assistance to
Syrian refugees and host communities in Turkey, the refugee deal gave Erdogan
access to much needed EU billions to soothe discontent with his mismanagement
of Turkey s e o o y. Moreo er, the o ti uatio of the deal e olde s the
Turkish president in using Syrian refugees as a bargaining chip to blackmail the EU.
The EUTCC strongly emphasize that Erdogan's expanionist strategy itself is causing
refugees.
Yet that
not being said
could well
be
the most
important
part of the conclusions of
the Europea Cou il. Turkey s further regressio i to a zero rule of la
1
presidential system, its hostage holding of politicians, among them the co-chairs,
members of parliament and mayors of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party
HDP, the full-fledged assault on civil society and independent media remain
unmentioned. The Europea
Cou il is also sile t a out Turkey s u la ful
occupation and war crimes in Afrin and parts of Jazire in Northern Syria and the
ongoing attacks against the Syrian Democratic Forces SDF, and its military
interventions in Northern Iraq - all part of Turkey
s destru ti e ilitary approa h
to the Kurdish issue. The recruitment of Jihadi fighters in Syria to fight proxy wars
in Libya and more recently Nagorno Karabagh also go unmentioned.
The
Europea Cou il s sile e a out all su h issues a flagra t o tradi tio to the
democratic values and the rule of law on which the council says the EU is
grounded and encourages Erdogan to continue his destructive path chosen.
On behalf of the EUTCC board
Kariane Westrheim, Chairperson
Dersim Dağdeviren, Board Member
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