Today is very important day for us. We are excited and delighted.
As we are celebrating the 24th anniversary of the IHD and the 20th anniversary of the HRFT which we pioneered to establish, we are also actualizing the inaugural of the IHD Human Rights Academy. Respectfully I salute and thank you all for your attendance to our celebrations. I shall make my speech about the main context of the human rights and Turkey.
Along with the EU process, the Republic of Turkey experiences transitional stage in a harsh way to have a democratic character by eluding its own oligarchic character gradually. What is situation of the Republic in terms of the human rights?
The understanding of such Republic is grounded on a typical ideological nation-state structure which tries to exist by implementations based on Turkish ethnicity and Sunni Islam understanding. This understanding causes more violations of human rights in the 21st Century, such as non-discrimination principle, freedom of thought and faith, freedom of expression, cultural rights, right to life, prohibition of torture, freedom of association, personal security, political rights, identity rights, rights of prisoner, etc.
It is necessary to install a constitution based on the plurality principle accepting all different ethnicities, religious and language groups in order to acquire the democratic character for the Republic. In such understanding of democracy, the principle of transparency shall be implemented by abolishing military guardianship and the principle of participation that strengthens decentralization shall be realized. Thus, Turkey has still serious problems with the democracy. In such country where has problems with democracy, the human rights are not secured eventually.
We should examine the human rights policies of the state and government. Starting from the 9/11, security policies that are dominated all over the world are being actively implemented in Turkey. The view on human rights is based on the security question. The fact that the Minister related with the human rights is also responsible for the security issues is one of the most important indicators of such understanding. In Turkey, still there are no national human rights institutions based on the UN Paris Principles. As human rights organizations and human rights defenders, we cannot figure out the results of our interventions. In Turkey, the Anti-Discrimination Law and Equality Commission do not exist. Even though we also participated to related studies, we are also concerned about shape of last version of the draft.
The Constitution of 12 September brought an impunity policy and converted to become a ‘culture’ in the process of the EU. According to data of the IHD and the HRFT, this policy is still being implemented. The facts, that claims about torture and ill-treatments are not efficiently investigated and these investigations are not sufficiently prosecuted, reveal themselves by official figures. The fact of 77 cases opened of resistance against government officers for each torture and ill-treatment case opened is an indicator for the impunity in the legislation. Immediately Turkey needs to approve the Additional Optional Protocol on the Convention against Torture that is still waiting in the Parliament, to establish a national prevention mechanism as soon as possible and to include human rights organizations in this mechanism. This is an obligation to overcome the impunity. If the draft law for establishing several mechanisms of inspection over policemen and gendarmeries will be approved in the Parliament, this will be an important stage, even though we do not know the context. The permission system which is used in investigations for combating impunity must be abolished. Rather, law enforcement officers bounded by public prosecutors must be established.
To give an example for showing implementation level of impunity, the President, who claimed ‘zero tolerance’ against the torture, prolongs the situation by attempting to settle down pains rather than starting investigations about inhuman treatments over dead bodies of militants killed by armed conflicts. This understanding is the most difficult part in combating against the impunity.
The confrontation is an obligation in countries where numerous crimes against humanity were committed such as Turkey. This is an also important process contributing eradication of the impunity. It is necessary to reveal perpetrators of several unidentified murders, forced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, mass killings, etc. in order to experience such confrontation. I consider that the human rights movement in Turkey needs to discharge the responsibility and search for the truth. It is a desperate situation to just concern about the human right violations only in other countries but not in Turkey by turning their blind eyes and not criticizing. We need to always oppose to the crimes against the humanity everywhere.
Combating against the impunity has also international level. Today is the International Justice Day. The establishment of the Roma Statute was approved on 17 July 1998, which founded the International Crime Court and shall judge crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression. Turkey needs to be a party to this Statute immediately regarding human rights defenders.
In addition to all these discouragements, we need to mention the oppression policies by using the legislation. We need to highlight the penal legislation and improper implementations of the legislations which limit the freedom of expression and press and suppress firstly human rights defenders, journalists, politicians, trade unionists, students, intellectuals and authors. As the IHD decided to combat against the oppression implementations by the way of the legislation, we started a campaign called ‘Freedom towards Every One and Every Part’. The penal legislation in Turkey did not discriminate between people resorted use of force and people not resorted use of force. But this legislation blocks people who elude the violence and defend themselves in political arena. It is possible to install the freedom of expression in public opinion, to guarantee the freedom of press and establish a new emancipatory penal legislation. If special courts exist, we cannot talk about freedom of expression in Turkey. It is necessary to abolish such courts regarding several reasons such as irrational penalties given to juvenile delinquents, judgments against the Conventions on the Rights of the Children, etc. It is obligatory to install a new penal legislation that is not against the honor of the humanity by abolishing heavy arrestment regime. Such pressure over the thinking and criticizing side of the society is definitely an important human rights violation.
Today, we have opened the IHD Human Rights Academy. But we do not have companies of some friends here. Muharrem Erbey (Vice-President), Vetha Aydın (President of IHD Siirt Branch), six more executives from the branches in Aydın, Diyarbakır, Mardin and Rize. Turkey needs to implement the UN Convention on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders. This is a reality of Turkey that even though it was declared to be implemented in 2004, it was never implemented. This is one of important problems of Turkey. Dialogue between the State and civil society is being used whenever the state wants. The human rights defenders are continued not to be loved. The matter of protection of the human rights defenders must be an important arena in terms of the human rights movement in Turkey.
Today, I cannot pass the issue of the Kurdish question that is the biggest problem in Turkey. This must be solved by democratic and peaceful means. It is sad that the state could not keep what it started. It must not be forgotten what the cost of illegal activities of the state recently. Turkey cannot stand experiencing the same stage again. We all aim to establish permanent atmosphere without conflict and to solve by doing politics in the Parliament. Increasing conflicts in the Kurdish question shall bring implementation of the international law of armed conflicts. Recently, ignorance of this law had cost on heavy violations of the rights. Our country cannot be surrounded by profit-seeking people over war. We stated in our previous declarations about solution of the question. This problem can be solved by plurality, transparency and participatory principles of the democracy. In the process of solution of the problem, efforts of establishing peace culture and struggle for the peace of the human rights defenders shall keep continuing.
Turkey can just solve all problems by a new and democratic Constitution. Our request for the new and democratic constitution is still fresh.
The human rights defenders are aware of violations of economic and social rights caused by new liberalism. The struggle against poverty is a right. The poverty is the violation of right.
Last but not least, I state my own determination and faith about living all together in honorable way.
I wish the IHD Human Rights Academy will contribute to the arena of the human rights and celebrate the 24th year of the IHD and 20th year of the HRFT.
Öztürk Türkdoğan
The President