Rights Progress Marred in Key Year for EU Bid

Turkey's progress on human rights reforms was marred by blunders and lapses in the first two months of a critical year in its bid for European Union membership, Human Rights Watch said today. On March 8, EU foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in Ankara to discuss Turkey's progress toward meeting membership requirements.

In December, the European Union is due to decide whether Turkey has fulfilled the so-called "Copenhagen criteria" on human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Turkey's progress in meeting these standards will be a key factor in the European Union's decision on whether to open formal negotiations on Turkey's membership bid.

"Turkey has until the end of the year to show the European Union that it is meeting the European Union's expectations on human rights," said Rachel Denber, acting executive director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia division.

"The reform process is genuine, but the government needs to keep a much firmer grip on what's actually happening. It shouldn't just stand by and watch while police and courts blot the record."

The first two months of the year yielded a mixed record in freedom of expression and assembly. Despite strong opposition from university authorities, the Supreme Court in January affirmed that students had a right to petition for optional courses in Kurdish.

But in the same month, another chamber of the high court confirmed a one-year prison sentence imposed on radio broadcaster Sabri Öziç for expressing the view that the parliament had committed a "terrorist" act by authorizing deployment of troops to Iraq.

Öziç was convicted and sentenced to one year in prison under article 159 of the Turkish criminal code, which punishes insults against state institutions.

"Öziç was exercising his right to free speech. His conviction confounds common sense and violates Turkey's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights," said Denber.

In January, courts in Turkey also continued the trial against the Turkish Human Rights Foundation, accused of breaching the Law on Foundations by passing information to the European Parliament and the United Nations.

The courts handed down a 10-month prison sentence-later converted to a fine-to Sefika Gurbuz, director of an organization addressing the plight of internally displaced persons, for publishing a report on the issue.

The state security court in Ankara again refused to release four Kurdish members of parliament who are serving their tenth year in prison for non-violent political activities.

They are now being retried after the European Court of Human Rights found that their initial trial was unfair. The European Parliament has repeatedly called for their release.

Police continue to keep a tight rein on freedom of assembly. In January alone, police broke up at least 11 peaceful demonstrations, using clearly unwarranted force in several cases.

"The reform process is certainly moving forward," said Denber. "But Turkish citizens will not experience real reform until they are free to assemble without fear of being beaten, tear-gassed and arrested."

Some opponents of reform in Turkey fear that recognizing Kurdish language rights will encourage violent secessionism. Some also fear that other liberalizing measures are part of a hidden agenda by the ruling Justice and Development party, which has a strong Islamic identity, to reduce military control and impose a theocracy.

Other opponents discount the stabilizing benefits of EU membership because they are still not convinced that Europe will reward the reforms with accession, even if Turkey meets the established criteria for its membership bid.

In other areas, legislative progress toward EU criteria has been undermined by grudging and uneven implementation. Amendments to the Turkish criminal procedure code to guarantee detainees' access to legal counsel have reduced previously commonplace allegations of severe torture.

But a persistent trickle of alarming reports indicates that police continue to subject suspects to beatings and mock executions before bringing them to the police station.

Access to legal counsel has improved considerably, but bar associations report that police are experimenting with ways to circumvent the new protections by means that include failing to inform detainees of their right to see a lawyer free of charge, or telling lawyers that their clients do not want to speak to them.

Last month, a group of 13 minors, detained in connection with a demonstration in Siirt on February 14, spent nine hours in incommunicado detention. Police breached rules on access to legal counsel, provision of medical reports and protection of minors in custody.

The minors subsequently made credible allegations of torture and ill-treatment, but the Turkish government has failed to launch an investigation into the incident.

Also in February, the Turkish government publicly signaled its readiness to cooperate with the United Nations on the return of the more than quarter of a million people internally displaced from Turkey's south-east.

The government's moves toward genuine collaboration with international agencies would be a welcome change from the previously ineffective return policies, and would constitute progress on a key EU accession requirement.

Instead of ensuring implementation of reforms at home, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül spent much of the first month of this critical year abroad, promoting Turkey's EU candidacy and refreshing diplomatic contacts with allies who might support their EU bid.

"The government should skip its rhetoric about Turkey's role as a bridge between East and West, and remember that this is a test of real performance in protecting human rights and democracy," said Denber.

"The ten best arguments for a positive EU decision in December would be ten months without torture, ill-treatment, or citizens tried and sentenced for expressing their opinions."

Human Rights Watch said the key to successful reform is more and closer supervision by the national government and independent bodies. The Interior Ministry should open a major internal investigation into each and every allegation of ill-treatment, and make the results of these investigations public.

The Turkish government should also closely monitor its security forces, through a concerted program of visits to places of detention by official agencies and high-ranking police officers, as well as by bar associations and nongovernmental organizations.

The prosecution and the judiciary should cease their pursuit of cases based on legal provisions that are in flagrant violation of regional and international human rights standards, including the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which are applicable law within Turkey.(NM)