Our Struggle for Human Rights, Democracy and Peace Goes on Persistently, Adamantly and with Hope for 35 Years!
17 July 2021
The Human Rights Association (İnsan Hakları Derneği -İHD) was founded on 17 July 1986 with the signatures of 98 human rights defenders. The founding objective of the association was formulated as “working on human rights and freedoms” and this statement found its way into İHD’s charter.[i] Prisoners’ mothers and families, intellectuals, authors, journalists, publishers, academics, lawyers, physicians, architects and engineers, teachers were among the founders of the association. We commemorate our founders who passed on with love, respect and gratitude.
İHD has been stating that Turkey had a democracy and human rights problem since the day it was founded on 17 July 1986 and has been persevering in its struggle persistently, adamantly and with hope to contribute to solutions to eradicate this problem. İHD’s struggle has significantly contributed and is indeed contributing to the formation of an awareness and culture of human rights in Turkey.
One of the most important goals of İHD’s struggle for human rights and democracy is to contribute to the making of a novel and democratic constitution through the refusal of the 1982 Constitution that was made to be drafted by the putschist generals of 1980 and be approved by the public under martial law (military rule). Yet, Turkey has been drawn towards an even more anti-democratic constitutional regime rather than democratization because it failed to resolve its fundamental human rights and democracy problems. The most obvious characteristic of this system based on the rule of a single person, referred to as the presidential government system that went into force following the referendum held in 2017 under the state of emergency regime, is its being anti-democratic.
The great destruction brought about by the failure to resolve the Kurdish issue, which we see as the most important problem in Turkey, is still pending. Armed conflict and the geographical space of war have been in place in all its violence not only in Turkey but also in Syria and northern Iraq. Further, the removal from office of elected Kurdish co-mayors in 2016-2017 under the state of emergency regime and the following 2019 local elections held under the extended state of emergency regime laws and their subsequent arrest and unfair convictions delivered to them, their replacement by state trustees signify that the voters’ will was expropriated and democracy was denied. On top of all these anti-democratic practices, the fact that a lawsuit to dissolve HDP, the third largest political party in Turkey, was brought has sustained a heavy blow to the faith that problems could be solved through peaceful means. İHD has always defended the right to peace and will continue doing so. We would like to remind everyone once again that it is a must to resolve the Kurdish issue through democratic and peaceful means in order for Turkey to democratize itself.
There are many things one can mention regarding the backsliding in democracy and human rights in Turkey. We would, nevertheless, like to offer some important recommendations and demands on our 35th year underscoring our non-stop struggle for human rights, democracy and peace. We have essentially been reiterating our recommendations on this issue under certain main titles updating them each year:
- Turkey needs to materialize a genuine conflict resolution and face its past in order to get democratized. Turkey needs a novel peace process that will acknowledge and resolve the Kurdish issue. Turkey still needs a new political will that will accept the human rights demands of all otherized social groups, notably Alevis’ demands for right to equal citizenship.
- Turkey needs a novel and democratic constitution along with a genuine conflict resolution. Unless a novel and democratic constitution is drafted, it is not possible to come up with a solution through amendments to the 1982 Constitution drafted by the very generals who were the perpetrators of the military coup d’état of 1980. The most obvious characteristic of these constitutional amendments, referred to as the presidential government system that went into force following the referendum held in 2017 under the state of emergency regime, boils down to its being anti-democratic and being based on a single-person rule.
- Freedom of expression is the foundation of democracy. In order to pave the way to democracy, freedom of expression should absolutely be secured. It is indispensable to abolish the Anti-Terrorism Code (ATC) due to the obscurity of the definition of terror, to put an end to repression and censorship of the Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTÜK) over the media, to eliminate judicial harassment against Kurdish and dissident media, and to renounce continuous attempts to smother the social media. It is not quite possible to pave the way to democracy unless freedom of expression and freedom of press are guaranteed.
- We would like to underline that elimination of violations, most notably in gender equality, brought about by other types of discrimination along with policies and practices that produce all kinds of discrimination is of utmost importance.
- Ethnic background, gender identity, all kinds of faith or lack thereof should be added to bases of discrimination, and hate speech should be banned while hate crimes should be revised. When the members of the political power give up hate speech, it would prove to be the first important step in this direction. We will relentlessly continue combating all kinds of discrimination.
- Turkey’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe İstanbul Convention, which recognizes gender roles and is a significant achievement in preventing violence against women, after bringing it into question has been a perfect instance of unlawfulness and anti-democratic practice. Although the presidency has no power to withdraw from international conventions duly put into effect under Article 90 of the Constitution on its own, the fact that the withdrawal happened has become an important indicator of this new type of regime feeding on arbitrariness and uncertainty. We will continue to work for the reinstatement of the İstanbul Convention.
- The local elections of 2019 has shown that there is indeed a strong political and social dissidence in Turkey that is for democracy, human rights and peace. Turkey’s democratization can be secured if political and social dissidence engage in a joint struggle on the largest basis possible along the democratic and human rights principles. Grave problems Turkey is facing today can only be solved if political and social dissidence compel the political power to hold early elections. We, as human rights defenders, are involved in this pro-democracy struggle as part of social dissidence.
- The significance of the principle of separation of powers emerges in independent and impartial judiciary. Without a judicial structure that acts in line with the principle of rule of law, justice cannot be served. Yet, the judicial reform strategy announced by the political power introduced regulations to the exact opposite direction, amendments were introduced to the enforcement law to the detriment of political prisoners on the grounds of the pandemic, and an amendment was also introduced to the relevant law by creating multiple and pro-government bar associations intervening into their election methods. A special prosecution method using the ATC and for criminal offenses within this scope has been increasingly imposing its impact all over Turkey. Such developments indicate that the political power is keen on exercising full control over the judiciary. And an alarming state of affairs is on the scene in which the judiciary has been in compliance with such tendency of the political power, has increasingly been moving away from the standards put forth in international conventions, covenants and protocols, has been delivering judgments contrary to Article 90 of the Constitution and the ECtHR’s case-law and judgments (e.g. ECtHR’s Selahattin Demirtaş v. Turkey and Osman Kavala v. Turkey judgments). It is not possible to guarantee the right to a fair trial, secure rule of law, form an independent and impartial judiciary unless this union of powers is abolished through a new and democratic constitution.
- One of the most important problems in Turkey is the failure to eliminate in-state mob structures. Following the counter-guerilla fact, the emergence of the Fethullah Gülen organization within the state amounting to an attempted military coup has revealed how great the danger was. However a democratic government is a must in order to prevent the formation of new illegal structures replacing the eliminated ones. While it is well-known that some of the groups forming the de facto government block, which fairly showed its face after the attempted coup, had been brought before the courts for illegal structures within the state. The disclosures of a person named Sedat Peker which he has been posting within the last couple of months show how alarming the situation is. We, human rights defenders, are greatly concerned by such state of affairs. Thus the policy and culture of impunity should be ended and the authorities should stop protecting state officials who commit crimes.
- The backsliding in economic and social rights is deteriorating with authoritarianism. Unemployment and poverty have further increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Authorities have been persistent in authoritarian policies in order not to grant workers and laborers their rights, while they lead to gross rights losses by manipulating basic economic statistics. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that struggle for economic and social rights should strongly be maintained during this period.
- Our human rights violations reports document a significant increase in practices violating the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, particularly following the declaration of the state of emergency. Similarly, cases of enforced disappearance have reemerged. Moreover, the number of complaints alleging that persons were forcibly detained for a short time and threatened and were subjected to torture and ill-treatment has increased as well. Various procedural rules, which were introduced through state of emergency decree laws and were subsequently passed into laws, lead to impunity. Particularly the fact that the 12-day long custody period is maintained by Law No. 7145 after the state of emergency has created a rather serious situation. Further, the policy of impunity prevents launching inquiries into these violations. Effective, comprehensive and independent administrative and criminal investigations should be initiated by putting an end to the policy of impunity.
- İHD was founded 35 years ago by the efforts of mothers whose children were subjected to torture and ill-treatment in prisons. At the current stage a discriminatory and otherizing enforcement regime has been built by using the ATC. Political prisoners’ sentences are enforced in prisons under isolation conditions while all prisoners face enforced standing roll-calls, physical examination in handcuffs, imposition of strip-search, monitoring of living spaces with cameras, enforced transfers, incarceration away from one’s family, restrictions and bans on communication and correspondence, conduct amounting to acts of torture and ill-treatment when a prisoner objects to a practice and seeks their rights. Harsh isolation in İmralı Prison is still maintained. So much so that lawyer Ebru Timtik who went on a hunger strike for the right to a fair trial lost her life, while Aytaç Ünsal sustained permanent damage to his health that necessitates long-term treatment. Yet, their demands for the right to a fair trial have not been met. The number of critically sick prisoners has gradually risen and it is now well above 650 according to our data. The policy of decay towards critically sick prisoners lead to their death, while the political power does not regard this situation as a gross human rights violation.
- The political power maintained the state of emergency for two years in spite of the fact that the coup attempt was quenched and it subsequently extended the state of emergency virtually for another three years beginning with 31 July 2018. Problems in the right to work, right to health, right to movement, etc. faced by individuals who were dismissed from their public posts through decree laws during the state of emergency have not been solved yet. It is, moreover, seen that the commission established to inquire the state of emergency measures has not been effective in remedying violations while Ankara administrative courts established to hear cases brought against the decisions of this commission have not been effective either. In order to eliminate the impact of the state of emergency, all the unfair and unlawful measures should be taken back, most prominently the state of emergency dismissals, and the legislation should be reviewed and normalization should be provided for. It should be remembered that it was only and only fundamental rights and freedoms along with individuals who exercised these freedoms that suffered during the state of emergency. Yet, the political power got the bill that would extend Law No. 7145 for another three years passed in commissions at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and intends to get it passed by the general assembly as well. The political power is governing Turkey by a state of emergency regime that has become permanent.
- Bans on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association in the aftermath of the state of emergency and the number of violations against those who want to exercise such rights are still on the rise. The instances of such violations emerged more prominently in the protests of bar associations’ heads against the multiple bar association law in Ankara and other cities, protests staged by public employees demanding their jobs back, workers’ protests seeking their rights -notably mine workers’ protests, protests by women activists, democracy marches organized by HDP. In addition, repressive policies and practices against the right to freedom of association and assembly of the LGBTI+ reveal the government’s mentality.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the number of human rights violations both in Turkey and the world while providing authoritarian governments with opportunities to restrict fundamental rights using conflict of rights as an excuse. As human rights defenders we believe that we should be engaged in advocacy work with the awareness that economic and social rights, including the right to an ecological environment, are just as important as the right to life.
- In addition to the ecological destruction brought about by the global climate crisis; in Turkey nature is still being destroyed due to unplanned urbanization, opening of natural environment to mine sites, construction of hydroelectric power plants and dams, forest fires that appear to be manmade. İHD would like to reiterate that protection of nature is a fundamental human right.
- The right to defend human rights of İHD, which has important contributions to the development of an awareness and culture of human rights in Turkey, and of human rights defenders should be recognized. The policy of repression through judicial harassment against human rights defenders should be ended. The Ministry of Interior’s activity auditing on associations should be ended, practices reminiscent of military coup d’état periods of blacklisting persons through an amendment to the Law on Associations should be dropped, restrictions on associations’ and foundations’ activities and imposing full control over them under the guise of prevention of financing of terrorism and easy appointment of state trustees should be stopped. These practices unearth the political power’s intention to take civil society under full control. National and international responses to the Interior Minister’s targeting İHD using his platform at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and the subsequent arrest of our co-chairperson has also revealed how strong solidarity was among the human rights movement.
Human rights defenders’ 35-year-old struggle under the auspices of the İHD will persevere with demands of freedom, equality, justice, and peace based on human dignity and defenders will keep on working to achieve a democratic regime in Turkey based on human rights.
Our 35-year-old struggle for human rights, democracy and peace will persevere persistently, adamantly and with hope from the past to the future.
HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION
[i] İHD. “Charter.” https://ihd.org.tr/en/constitution-of-human-rights-association/