BRUSSELS, — The 7th EUTCC Conference has ended adopting long resolutions. In particular the Conference reiterates, that the EU must hold Turkey to the standards laid out as criteria for accession, rigorously monitor Turkey’s progress, exert pressure on Turkey to implement further reforms, and most importantly, follow up on these conditions to ensure that concrete progress is made and that any gains made remain permanent. Turkey must fulfil its obligations both under international law and as set out in the Copenhagen Criteria. There must be no leeway in negotiations when it comes to the assessment of whether the Copenhagen Criteria has been met.
Also with reference to the judgements of the ECTHR in several cases, including the case of Mr. Abdullah Öcalan vs. Turkey, regarding conditions of detention in Turkey the Conference calls on the Turkish government to implement the ECTHR judgement and CPT (Committee on Prevention of Torture) recommendations on conditions of detention specifically relating to the health of Mr. Öcalan.
According to the resolution adopted “the Turkish state must end its continued use of articles of the criminal code to prosecute writers, journalists, intellectuals, lawyers and many other defenders of free speech. Turkish anti-terror and press laws such as Article 301 are still being used to restrict legitimate freedom of the press. The Conference calls on the EU to ensure that Turkey remove restrictions on freedom of expression from their legal framework entirely. The Conference asks the EU to closely monitor the number of investigations opened and prosecutions launched in Turkey in relation to the expression of non-violent opinions, including cases where these do not result in convictions and must allow the freedom of expression of Roj TV and other Kurdish media channels in Europe.”
The conference also suggested that “the EU should assist —both politically and financially— in the creation of a democratic platform for dialogue between Turkey and Kurdish representatives aimed at finding a peaceful and sustainable solution to the Kurdish issue and fully comply with their own freedom of expression obligations in respect of those Kurdish organizations and individuals who are concerned to promote the same. Local and regional authorities should be consulted in deciding how financial aid should be spent.”
According to the Conference “Turkey must ratify the European Framework Convention on the Protection of Minorities as well as other UN Instruments concerning minorities and respect the existing cultural and minority rights of all groups. The conference calls on the EU to apply pressure on the Government of Turkey as a potential member of the EU to ratify the Framework. Recalling Articles 10, and 14, and Article 2 of the first Protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 8 of the European Charter for Regional or Minority languages, and the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly’s resolution 1519 of October 2006 on the cultural situation of the Kurds. In addition the Conference reiterates its call to the State of Turkey and the European Union to develop and promote a strategic plan for mother tongue education.”
The Conference also noted that no further provision has been made in Turkey for the vast number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who are unable to return to their villages without government support and also face political difficulties. The EU could play a vital role in assisting Turkey and exerting political pressure to remedy the situation of IDPs. The Conference reiterates its call upon the EU to make this a vital criterion to the accession of the EU, to monitor the situation with regards to IDPs and their conditions, and to follow up on such monitoring. The Conference calls on the Turkish government to immediately cease the illegal expropriation of land related to the development of the Ilısu Dam, and notes that there is still no consultation plan, or plan for the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons in place, and calls upon the EU and international community to abstain from funding or supporting the project.
Finally, the proposals for a negotiated settlement to the conflict could include:
In the interest of obtaining a peaceful, lasting resolution to the Kurdish conflict, the Conference urges Turkey to institute a democratic participation process for all political parties and civil society organisation, beginning with the release of Mr. Abdullah Öcalan and the recognition of the PKK as a non-terrorist group;
The Conference urges the EU and the United States to remove the PKK from their proscription lists in order to facilitate negotiations. We encourage the current reported discussions between the representatives of the Turkish state and Mr. Abdullah Öcalan and call on Turkey to go further still, by putting in place a process to establish the truth about the past.
The Turkish government must invite The Elders to mediate a negotiated settlement with representatives of all political parties and civil society organisations including constitution-making for an democratic constitution, as pledged by Prime Minister Erdoğan following the September referendum;
A truth and reconciliation commission should be established to recommend measures to bring an end to the conflict.
The Conference further asserts that more must and can be done on all sides and calls for the following measures to be adopted for the creation of a climate of peace:
The Conference calls on the Turkish government to respond to the PKK’s ceasefire and all military operations in northern Iraq (south Kurdistan) violating Iraq’s territory and urges Turkey to respect Iraq’s territorial integrity, human rights and the rule of law and to ensure that civilian casualties are avoided. These military operations are undermining the Kurdish Regional Government and threatening regional stability;
The Conference urges the Turkish government to ensure that Kurds are given full cultural and political rights in accordance with its obligations under the Council of Europe and EU accession criteria.
The Conference calls upon all political parties in Turkey to help foster the conditions within Turkey for a democratic platform for dialogue and for the EU member states to strongly and publicly support all EU requirements concerning democratic and legal reform within Turkey. In particular, the Conference calls upon the Turkish Government to ensure that all legally constituted democratic parties are allowed to engage in peaceful political activity without interference in accordance with Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights. It further calls upon the Turkish Government to immediately cease the harassment and politically-motivated investigations of Kurdish politicians and to immediately release on bail the 151 Kurdish politicians, lawyers, mayors and civil society leaders who are part of the so-called KCK trial. The EU must unambiguously condemn the arrest and detention of politicians and human rights defenders who have been supportive of the state’s Kurdish population and ensure that political freedoms are protected.
The Conference calls on all members of the EU to negotiate in good faith with the view of Turkey obtaining accession to the EU as long as Turkey meets its membership obligations.