European Commission and EEAS: Step Up for Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly in Turkey
While the policecontinued to violently crackdown on peaceful demonstrations on Taksim Squareand in Gezi Park, a fourth person died in the protests and over 50 lawyers havebeen arrested while protesting in an Istanbul courthouse. In addition, Turkishcitizens, human rights defenders, trade unions and civil society organisationscontinue to be under attack by the Turkish government.
Yesterday, theEuropean Parliament discussed the current situation in Turkey in the plenarydebate in Strasbourg and formulated the following demands to end the violence,including:
· The Turkishauthorities must guarantee and respect the rights of all citizens to freedom ofexpression, peaceful assembly and peaceful protest; immediately release allpeaceful protestors taken into custody and currently detained; allow alldetainees unrestricted access to lawyers of their choice; provide informationon the exact numbers of detainees and injured;
· The role of a systemof checks and balances is crucial in the governance of a modern democraticstate, which should be reflected in the ongoing constitutional process, andwhich must be based on the principle of separation of powers, with balancebetween the executive, legislative and judicial functions, on respect for humanrights and fundamental freedoms – in particular freedom of expression andfreedom of the press – and on a participatory political culture that trulyreflects the plurality of a democratic society; in itself, the organisation ofpeaceful and legitimate protests testifies to the vibrancy of Turkish civilsociety; continuing efforts are important to Turkey to further improve itsdemocratic institutions, the rule of law and the observance of fundamentalfreedoms;
· Freedom of expressionand media pluralism are at the heart of European values and a truly democratic,free and pluralist society requires true freedom of expression; freedom ofexpression is applicable not only to information or ideas that are favourablyreceived or regarded as inoffensive, but also, in accordance with the EuropeanConvention on Human Rights, to those that offend, shock or disturb the state orany section of the population.
SOLIDAR, İnsanHakları Derneği (İHD), Euro-MediterraneanHuman Rights Network and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) welcome these demands as they coincidewith the joint draftresolution issued last week, supported by the EPAN working group of CONCORD and DVVInternational.
In light of these resolutions, we urge the EuropeanCommission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to engage in closedialogue with Turkey on crucial issues such as the judiciary and fundamentalrights, especially through chapters 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and24 (Justice, Freedom and Security) as part of the AccessionPartnership as they provide an important policy tool to put pressureon the Turkish government to ensure that all national legislation related tohuman rights and fundamental freedoms is in line with the essential values ofthe EU and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights andFundamental Freedoms (ECHR).