PRESS RELEASE, — A delegation of independent observers comprising lawyers, human rights activists and trade union officials* will travel to Turkey in coming days to witness the election which takes places on 12 June, facilitated by Peace in Kurdistan Campaign and supported by Britain Peace Council.
In many ways, a watershed election for the country, Kurdish backed candidates from the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) standing as part of the Labour, Democracy and Freedom Bloc are hoping to gain significant voter support.
But largely ignored by the international media, Turkey has been putting serious obstacles in the path of Kurdish political activities; the 10% election threshold is all about preventing Kurdish political representation in the Turkish Assembly, but were this not enough, Turkish state forces have used everything from legal manoeuvres, police and paramilitary repression and state backed violence to curtail peaceful Kurdish political campaigning, including repeated police raids on BDP offices.
In the months leading up to the election, Turkey’s Supreme Election Commission (YSK) sought to veto 12 independent candidates backed by the Kurdish supported Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). This action did not come as a surprise. It indicated that the Turkish state was deeply concerned about the level of support that Kurdish candidates are likely to muster during the election. The decision was only modified after a widespread public outcry.
When the Kurds erected their democratic solution tents in major cities, the Turkish security forces responded with the use of tear gas and water cannon, there were many arrests, injuries and at least one person was shot dead by police. The use of live ammunition was a grossly disproportionate use of force by any standards. The police and security forces have been far too keen to use brutal force to break up civilian protests, such as marches and rallies, even when women and children were involved. This action revealed that the ugly face of Turkey had not changed much despite all the talk of reforms in recent years.
Turkey is intimately involved in most of the international organisations that comprise the global social, political and economic system which is under the leadership of the Western powers: NATO, the UN, IMF, World Bank; the European Union is a part of these institutions. Turkey was always an important player in this grand alliance.
The ruling AKP, which is expected to win another large majority in the forthcoming election, is viewed in the West as a moderate face of Islam and has shown its loyalty to both the NATO military alliance and the neo-liberal economic system that underpins it. Since the AKP took power in Ankara, Turkey has been promoted as a model for how the West wants to see Middle Eastern states develop: with its moderate pro-Western Islam, it has been left to do what it wants in its domestic politics as long as it does not make trouble abroad.
In the lead up to the elections the BDP have highlighted four demands which Kurdish voters see as key in resolving the ongoing conflict:
An end to military operations against their communities and the lifting of political repression.
Constitutional guarantees to allow free use of Kurdish in public life and to have the right to an education in their mother tongue.
The abolishment of Turkey’s 10% election threshold for parliamentary representation.
The immediate release of jailed Kurdish politicians.
Turkish jails are notoriously packed with political prisoners and the wave of arrests that have been reported in the run up to the elections, particularly of BDP activists, have made the demand for the release of political prisoners all the more urgent. The Kurds saw these recent arrests as part of a concerted plan to immobilise and render ineffective their political campaign. One of the key aims of the UK delegation will be to gather evidence and establish whether the state’s repressive actions will have had an impact on the election result.
Alongside these demands proposals for “Democratic Autonomy” have been put forward by the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), the largest civil society platform in the Middle East. Democratic Autonomy envisages that political decisions affecting local communities be made at the local level; an idea similar to the constitutional reforms for devolution that have been implemented in the UK over the last 20 years which have seen the creation of a Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament.
Apart from a few honourable exceptions the British and European media has remained silent on what has been unfolding in Turkey. Much hangs on the outcome of the election – the next few weeks will show in which direction the country is likely to move and whether there will be any real opportunity on resolving the Kurdish issue, which has for too long marred the lives of millions of people and mired the country in a conflict that has claimed too many lives. Success for the pro-Kurdish candidates, despite all the repression, will offer a renewed hope for the realisation of peace and democracy which will benefit both Turks and Kurds alike.
* Delegates: Margaret Owen, barrister, member of Bar Human Rights Committee (BHRC), sponsored by Britain Peace Council; Ali Has, lawyer and a spokesperson for Britain Peace Council; Hugo Charlton, criminal barrister 1 Grays Inn; Zara Broughton, student film-maker; Jonathan Fryer, journalist, academic and Liberal International; Stephen Smellie, UNSION Scotland; Sherri Semsidini, human rights advisor at Trott and Gentry Solicitors; Omer Moore, human rights lawyer, Trott and Gentry Solicitors; Val Swain, activist, Fitwatch; Emily Apple, activist, Fitwatch; Mithat Isakson, PhD student Exeter University.
For more information contact
Peace in Kurdistan Campaign: Campaign for a political solution of the Kurdish question
estella24@tiscali.co.uk
Estella Schmid – Tel: 020 7586 5892 – mobile 07846666804
Rachel Bird – Tel: 020 7272 4131 – mobile 07952145854
Patrons: Lord Avebury, Lord Rea, Lord Dholakia, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Jean Lambert MEP, Alyn Smith MEP, Hywel Williams MP, Elfyn Llwyd MP, John Austin, Gareth Peirce, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, Edward Albee, Margaret Owen OBE, Mark Thomas, Bairbre de Brún MEP