Human rights defenders in Turkey have been classifying main human rights problems in terms of fundamental human rights; military tutelage, deadlock in the Kurdish question, freedom of expression, freedom of religion and conscience, minority rights question, torture and right to life. In terms of democracy; political parties regime, law on election and regulations about local administration.
Deadlock policy based on violence has continued in the Kurdish question. As the year of 2007, number of people, who died in armed conflict are very high also in 2008. 432 people including soldiers and armed militant died in armed conflict in 2008. Compare to the last year, there is an increase in this category. Insistence on violence policy has continued. The Government’s step regarding Kurdish TV Channel has turned into, in fact, an attempt to create its Kurdish type. Some Kurdish letters, which are used in the Kurdish TV Channel, in the Latin alphabet are accepted as forbidden in the Turkish alphabet that is in fact a Latin alphabet as well and caused prohibition of thousands names of people and change of name of places and hundreds people were sent to prison and now there is an atmosphere in which as if these facts were forgotten. Actually, the Government and especially the Parliament must apologize to Kurds. Although establishing a TV Channel in Kurdish language, which was considered as unknown language until recent time, is a positive improvement, the question can be solved with recognizing Kurdish identity and a Constitutional circumstance that will provide an atmosphere for survival of the identity. Common and strong reactions of Kurds in 2008 have shown that the question must be solved through peaceful policies. Even one person should not lose his/her life anymore in Turkey.
Effects of military tutelage regime over politics have continued in 2008. The Government’s militarist utterances, not denying memorandums that were published in the media, transferring Semdinli case to the military court, media briefings and statements about political issue by the Turkish General Staff have presented the problem in this field. Limited scope of the Ergenekon case and not including crimes conducted in the East and Southeast can be explained with an efficient military tutelage regime. Problem of not fulfilling the requirement of the decision by the ECtHR about the conscientious objection has continued.
In regard to freedom of expression in 2008; change of the Article 301 did not make change in its essence and this fact shows that problem in this issue is going on. Data of 2008 show that violations in this field have continued. There has been no change in the articles, which are obstacles to freedom of expression, in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) and Anti Terror Law (TMK). Even after change of the Article 301, the Minister of Justice has permitted for case in more than 50 files. The Minister has asked for a court case against Mr. Temel Demirer in a manner that sentenced Mr. Demirer. The most problematic event in the field of the freedom of expression is that the High Court has made decisions according to which people can be sentenced as a member of illegal organizations, in accordance with the Article 220 of TCK, though they are not. These decisions have been made to sentence people as a member of illegal organization if their expressions in demonstration show similarity with expressions of illegal organizations. It is a decision, which has been made to reduce social opposition to silence. This decision of the High Court is even opposite to the Turkish Constitution of 1982. The Article 90 of the Turkish Constitution is not applied by the judiciary intentionally. The judiciary decisions, which are not impartial, in regard to the freedom of expression have been sustained with old State Security Court’s practices through new heavy penal courts.
Number of arrested people increased in 2008, too. There is no place for new arrestees in prisons. Turkey must review its policy of arrest.
Detention and arrest of children and putting them prison into prisons were not so high even in the period of 12th September or the military coup in 1980. This situation shows that special heavy penal court, which were called as the State Security Courts in the past, are partial and unfair. Silent position of politicians, who cry for Palestinian children, about sentence to longer period though they are under age made us sorry.
Developments in the field of freedom of religion and belief was limited with headscarf step, which was cancelled by the Constitutional Court. However there was a development, which was celebrated in the squares, for Alevis in 2008. Not fulfilling the responsibility of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decision about abolishment of compulsory religion course, subsequently exercising an opposite constitutional regulation by the same court in regard to Leyla Şahin case has revealed the Government’s ideological characteristic. The Government has wasted 2008 regarding the freedom of religion and belief. It has tried to create its Alevis in the freedom of religion and belief field like it works to create its Kurds in the Kurdish Question.
The new law on foundations has brought some changes partly in terms of minority rights. However fundamental problems of minorities have not been solved yet. The court case to determine border of Mor Gabriel monastery field in Mardi showed that the new law did not change the situation in a satisfactory level. Israel conducted severe and unjust attacks on Gaza and subsequently there were crimes against humanity in 2008. As a result of politicians’ reactions, which aimed to use this situation as a propaganda object in the domestic policy rather than to stop Israel via legal measure, we have experienced the rise of anti-antisemitism and atmosphere against minorities once again. There has been no legal precautions despite rightful criticisms by minority groups. Still there is not an equality institution against discrimination and no particular law about this issue.
After the change in the Law on the Duties and Competencies of Police in 2007, police violence has increased in 2008. 35 people were shot as they did not obey stop warning of the police forces. Although it is blatantly against the Constitution, the Government did not take any measures. Torture incidents increased in 2008. The most violation of right to life incidents, which are 45, happened in prisons and detention places. Unknown killings have continued.
2008 has become a year on which torture has re-increased. 1546 people were subjected to torture and ill-treatment. The ECtHR sentenced Turkey in charge of violating the prohibition of torture 57 times in 2008. This reality shows seriousness of the issue. There were 47 sentences by the ECtHR in 2007. The statement of zero tolerance to torture has not been mentioned but turned into zero tolerance to torturer. Torture practices increased. Apology after Engin Ceber was killed because of torture was not enough to solve the problem. There will be positive developments in this field when the Government will abolish the impunity policy regarding torture and violations of right to life. OPCAT is still being kept before the Turkish Grand National Assembly or TBMM.
The report, which has been prepared related with the campaign conducted by the IHD about sick prisoners in Turkey, shows that violations in prisons have reached to a very high level. 37 people lost their lives in prisons for different reasons. 306 prisoners, who are seriously sick, were not treated satisfactorily. In addition, a few people lost their lives at the beginning of 2009. Deaths because of sickness happen more often than past. 333 prisoners stated that they were subjected to torture and ill-treatment. Total number of prisoners are higher than the capacity of prisons in Turkey. Prisoners’ fundamental rights are ignored, subsequently; prisoners’ many rights especially right to life, right to health, right to communication, right to conversation and linguistic rights have been violated. It seems that High Security Prisons will be one of top issues that we will talk about. Violations in Imrali Prison, in which Mr. Abdullah Öcalan is being kept, have caused serious reactions by democratic public opinion and many Kurdish people. We hope that the Government’s statements, which have been announced to the public opinion, will decrease problems in Imrali prison in 2009 to the lowest level. IHD has announced to the public many times that Imrali Prison should be closed.
In terms of economic and social rights, the world economic crisis was the most important event in 2008. Reflections of the crisis are more poverty and unemployment in Turkey. Police attack on workers, who wanted to celebrate 1st May as unity, solidarity and struggle day of working class, has revealed the Government’s policy that is against labour. Workers deaths in Tuzla shipyard is a serious phenomenon to show how wild capitalism is being exercised. The working class in Turkey could not solve even this problem and it is an exemplary situation in regard to its weakness and not being unified.
2008 was the year on which censorship raised again. Blocking websites, in manner that is contrary to the law, with court decisions, confiscating opposite newspaper even while they were being prepared to issue, cancelling accreditations of some TV channels and newspapers correspondences, which followed Prime Ministry news, revealed the Government’s censorship aspect in 2008.
Violations of right of association have increased in 2008. There were court cases against or closure process 2 political parties and 9 associations.
We witnessed that the Government put the state’s all traditional policies into practice like it keeps all of them in its mind. In this regard the state, which is based on man-mentality and militarist manner, continues to tolerate all kinds of violence against women, stayed as a mere spectator to murder of women under the name of “honour”, judicial and administrative measures that must prevent “honour” killings and domestic violence were ineffective. Many women were killed in streets though there were decisions of “protection” about them after they applied to protection mechanisms within legislation since they were raped, filed a court case to divorce from their husbands, refused to forced marriage etc… According to data collected by the IHD; 110 women’ right to life were violated in 2008. Indeed it is not the whole picture because IHD is not able to collect all data. 110 women’s right were violated because of the mentality that has been going on for years. We know that the real number of women’s rights violations are more than we determined. Turkey is 129th country in terms of woman-man equality in the world in 2008 though it was 123th last year. Turkey has better conditions in terms of woman-man equality than only from 5 countries. It is worrisome for our country. Plan to establish a “woman-man equality commission” in the TBMM, which is a result of women organizations’ suggestion, was transformed into “equal opportunities commission” because of AKP MPs took a step backward. All these points indicate that the year of 2008 did not “bring” any positive improvement for women rights.
Although, the problems, which were mentioned above generally, could be solved via a democratic Constitution, the Government wasted its chance in this issue with change in the headscarf issue. AKP faced the closure case against it in that period and then started to follow a militarist policy to rescue itself from the closure. The ruling party was not closed by the court but now the party is in a position that has danger of closure in any time. This is an exemplary situation to show effect of military tutelage system. Judiciary system had an attitude that is appropriate for spirit of the Constitution of 1982. Silent position of democratic groups regarding the closure case against the Democratic Society Party (DTP) resulted from ambiguity in the Kurdish Question.
Pressures on human rights defenders increased in 2008. The following cases are some of the examples pressures that human rights defenders were subjected to; Mr. Rıdvan Kızgın one of the former Central Executive Board members passed this year in the prison, Mr. Ethem Açıkalın the president of IHD Adana Branch stayed in prison just because he did what he should as a human rights defender, sentence against IHD Canakkale Branch because of the peace activities on 1st September and torture and ill-treatment against IHD Adana and Izmir Branches. There was hardly dialogue between human rights defenders and the Government in 2008. Of course the Government is responsible for it. Indeed same person is the ministry of both security and human rights in this Government. This situation shows that Government sees human rights as a security question.
EU process was forgotten in 2008 on which people, despite all kinds of nationalist statements and lynch practices, want brotherhood insistently, Kurds and Alevis fought for their rights, politics was in deadlock situation but new searches were started. Expressing EU progress reports in a more critical manner showed that EU process is also in situation of parting ways for Turkey in 2009. The current position of the Government, which set out to become a full member of the EU, shows that politics is in a deadlock situation in Turkey.
In conclusion, 2008 was a year on which problems in terms of fundamental rights and freedoms as well as human rights violations increased.
Öztürk Türkdoğan
General President
Note: To access IHD 1999-2008 Comparative Balance Sheet and IHD 2008 Turkey Human Rights Violations Balance Sheet and IHD 2008 The Report of Human Rights Violation in Turkey (only in Turkish), please click the following links;
1) IHD 1999-2008 Comparative Balance Sheet
2) IHD 2008 Turkey Human Rights Violations Balance Sheet
3) IHD 2008 The Report of Human Rights Violation in Turkey (only in Turkish)