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EU POLITICIAN URGES ANKARA TO REVISIT SECURITY BILL
Today's Zaman, Turkey
March 20 2015
ABDULLAH AYASUN / ISTANBUL
A leading EU politician called on the Turkish government to revisit
a controversial internal security bill that grants law enforcement
officers enormous power at the expense of individual liberties,
with a sharp warning that the balance between security measures and
freedoms is in serious jeopardy.
Elmar Brok, chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign
Affairs, who was in Ankara for several days to hold high-level talks
with Turkish authorities, offered a bleak assessment about the state
of democracy in Turkey.
Accompanied by a large EU delegation, he paid visits to the Nationalist
Movement Party (MHP), the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party
(HDP) and to the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP)
after holding meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek.
"Turkey has taken great moves in the economic field over the past 10
years. But we see problems in freedom of expression and media freedom.
We asked questions [to our Turkish counterparts] regarding these
matters," Brok said. The delegation stressed the fact that the balance
between security measures and liberties is on a knife-edge due to
pressure created by violent, terrorists acts [in Turkey in the recent
past]. In remarks made to local media outlet Ankara'nın Sesi (Ankara's
Voice), Brok said the EU delegation urged the Turkish government to
revisit the security bill to take individual liberties into account.
The bill proposes that anyone who takes part in public demonstrations
or rallies with their faces partly or totally covered to conceal
their identity could face sentences of between two-and-a-half to
four years in prison. It also gives police officers the authority to
detain anyone on the street considered to be a public disturbance,
or a threat to security or private property.
When asked about the prospect of Turkey's EU membership, Brok placed
emphasis on the negotiation chapters about justice and democracy,
subjects of particular importance for Brussels. "Everyone [candidate]
must complete the negotiation process and meet the criteria. We,
especially, hope for the opening of the justice and democracy chapters
[to assess the progress Turkey has or hasn't made]."
Brok said common concerns shared by Turkey and the EU were the chief
motive for the delegation's visit to Ankara, which sought to hammer
out coordinated responses to those challenges.
"We want closer cooperation between Turkey and EU. Turkey shares our
view. We, therefore, want to update and deepen our cooperation [with
Turkey] regarding the Customs Union," he said. "We will contemplate
which chapters we could open during the EU negotiation process and
will seek ways to develop our defense and external security policies."
The 17th chapter -- on economic and monetary policies -- is also on
the delegation's agenda, but the current state of relations makes
any prospect of opening the chapter dim.
As the Armenian diaspora has intensified its efforts to commemorate
the centennial of the "Armenian genocide" at international level,
the ensuing debate around Turkey's standing over the events of 1915
have once again been thrown into the media spotlight. Brok said he
welcomed remarks made by Erdogan and Davutoglu last year regarding the
mass killings of Armenians in 1915, viewing Ankara's statement at the
time as a historic step towards normalizing ties between Turkey and
Armenia. "We hope that the 2009 protocols between Turkey and Armenia
will continue and be put into practice. That would be a critical step
in leaving these tragic events behind," Brok said.
"It is our hope and belief that the peoples of an ancient and unique
geography, who share similar customs and manners will be able to talk
to each other about the past with maturity and to remember together
their losses in a decent manner. It is with this hope and belief that
we wish that the Armenians who lost their lives in the context of the
early twentieth century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences
to their grandchildren," said a statement from then-Prime Minister
Erdogan's office in 2014.
The statement, which came on the eve of the 99th anniversary since the
start of the events of 1915, was issued by the Prime Minister's office
on Wednesday in nine languages -- Turkish, German, French, English,
Spanish, Russian, Arabic, West Armenian and East Armenian -- in an
attempt to make sure the statement is widely heard and understood.
"Regardless of their ethnic or religious origins, we pay tribute,
with compassion and respect, to all Ottoman citizens who lost their
lives in the same period and under similar conditions," Erdogan said
in the year-old statement.
Brok said the ongoing settlement process aimed at producing a lasting
solution to the decades-old Kurdish question in Turkey is also among
the topics he discussed with Davutoglu in this week's meeting. He
stressed the importance of political efforts to find a peaceful
solution to the contentious issue.
Sharing his views on the meeting between Turkish and EU diplomats,
Rıza Turmen, a former diplomat and a CHP deputy, said EU politicians
usually exercise self-restraint when they criticize anti-democratic
developments in Turkey, with the knowledge that any sort of public
criticism would play into the hands of the anti-Turkish camp in Europe.
"European diplomats offer balanced statements and refrain from harsh
criticism of the Turkish government publicly, while they express
their dismay over the poor record of the government on the reform
process behind closed doors," Turmen told Today's Zaman on Friday.
Addressing the abysmal state of Turkey's credentials abroad, Turmen
said recent reversals in Turkish democracy and the erosion of freedoms
hog the debate during joint meetings between Turkish and EU officials,
while most of the international media clings to the conviction that
a creeping authoritarianism is firmly taking root in Turkish politics.
http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_eu-politician-urges-ankara-to-revisit-security-bill_375883.html
Today's Zaman, Turkey
March 20 2015
ABDULLAH AYASUN / ISTANBUL
A leading EU politician called on the Turkish government to revisit
a controversial internal security bill that grants law enforcement
officers enormous power at the expense of individual liberties,
with a sharp warning that the balance between security measures and
freedoms is in serious jeopardy.
Elmar Brok, chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign
Affairs, who was in Ankara for several days to hold high-level talks
with Turkish authorities, offered a bleak assessment about the state
of democracy in Turkey.
Accompanied by a large EU delegation, he paid visits to the Nationalist
Movement Party (MHP), the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party
(HDP) and to the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP)
after holding meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek.
"Turkey has taken great moves in the economic field over the past 10
years. But we see problems in freedom of expression and media freedom.
We asked questions [to our Turkish counterparts] regarding these
matters," Brok said. The delegation stressed the fact that the balance
between security measures and liberties is on a knife-edge due to
pressure created by violent, terrorists acts [in Turkey in the recent
past]. In remarks made to local media outlet Ankara'nın Sesi (Ankara's
Voice), Brok said the EU delegation urged the Turkish government to
revisit the security bill to take individual liberties into account.
The bill proposes that anyone who takes part in public demonstrations
or rallies with their faces partly or totally covered to conceal
their identity could face sentences of between two-and-a-half to
four years in prison. It also gives police officers the authority to
detain anyone on the street considered to be a public disturbance,
or a threat to security or private property.
When asked about the prospect of Turkey's EU membership, Brok placed
emphasis on the negotiation chapters about justice and democracy,
subjects of particular importance for Brussels. "Everyone [candidate]
must complete the negotiation process and meet the criteria. We,
especially, hope for the opening of the justice and democracy chapters
[to assess the progress Turkey has or hasn't made]."
Brok said common concerns shared by Turkey and the EU were the chief
motive for the delegation's visit to Ankara, which sought to hammer
out coordinated responses to those challenges.
"We want closer cooperation between Turkey and EU. Turkey shares our
view. We, therefore, want to update and deepen our cooperation [with
Turkey] regarding the Customs Union," he said. "We will contemplate
which chapters we could open during the EU negotiation process and
will seek ways to develop our defense and external security policies."
The 17th chapter -- on economic and monetary policies -- is also on
the delegation's agenda, but the current state of relations makes
any prospect of opening the chapter dim.
As the Armenian diaspora has intensified its efforts to commemorate
the centennial of the "Armenian genocide" at international level,
the ensuing debate around Turkey's standing over the events of 1915
have once again been thrown into the media spotlight. Brok said he
welcomed remarks made by Erdogan and Davutoglu last year regarding the
mass killings of Armenians in 1915, viewing Ankara's statement at the
time as a historic step towards normalizing ties between Turkey and
Armenia. "We hope that the 2009 protocols between Turkey and Armenia
will continue and be put into practice. That would be a critical step
in leaving these tragic events behind," Brok said.
"It is our hope and belief that the peoples of an ancient and unique
geography, who share similar customs and manners will be able to talk
to each other about the past with maturity and to remember together
their losses in a decent manner. It is with this hope and belief that
we wish that the Armenians who lost their lives in the context of the
early twentieth century rest in peace, and we convey our condolences
to their grandchildren," said a statement from then-Prime Minister
Erdogan's office in 2014.
The statement, which came on the eve of the 99th anniversary since the
start of the events of 1915, was issued by the Prime Minister's office
on Wednesday in nine languages -- Turkish, German, French, English,
Spanish, Russian, Arabic, West Armenian and East Armenian -- in an
attempt to make sure the statement is widely heard and understood.
"Regardless of their ethnic or religious origins, we pay tribute,
with compassion and respect, to all Ottoman citizens who lost their
lives in the same period and under similar conditions," Erdogan said
in the year-old statement.
Brok said the ongoing settlement process aimed at producing a lasting
solution to the decades-old Kurdish question in Turkey is also among
the topics he discussed with Davutoglu in this week's meeting. He
stressed the importance of political efforts to find a peaceful
solution to the contentious issue.
Sharing his views on the meeting between Turkish and EU diplomats,
Rıza Turmen, a former diplomat and a CHP deputy, said EU politicians
usually exercise self-restraint when they criticize anti-democratic
developments in Turkey, with the knowledge that any sort of public
criticism would play into the hands of the anti-Turkish camp in Europe.
"European diplomats offer balanced statements and refrain from harsh
criticism of the Turkish government publicly, while they express
their dismay over the poor record of the government on the reform
process behind closed doors," Turmen told Today's Zaman on Friday.
Addressing the abysmal state of Turkey's credentials abroad, Turmen
said recent reversals in Turkish democracy and the erosion of freedoms
hog the debate during joint meetings between Turkish and EU officials,
while most of the international media clings to the conviction that
a creeping authoritarianism is firmly taking root in Turkish politics.
http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_eu-politician-urges-ankara-to-revisit-security-bill_375883.html