THE EVAULATION OF 2010 HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS REPORT
If we evaluate human rights violations occurred under the various titles of human rights in 2010, we regret to claim that these violations are similar with those occurred in 2009; violations has still continued in the year which democracy was frequently emphasized; the system has increasingly became the authoritarian, judicial pressure by the Special High Penal Courts gradually increased; there was increase in violations as a result of elimination policy adopted in the Kurdish problem; the torture and ill-treatment has continued; the right to demonstration was violated; freedom of expression was not recognized; rights of prisoners was violated; and there was “Police State” practices in 2010.
VIOLATION OF THE RIGHT TO LIFE
In the context of violation of the right to life, we observe that violation by security forces which is called as extrajudicial execution has increasingly continued. One of the main reasons regarding this increase is that the authorization of using gun was facilitated by the amendment in PSVK in 2007. Moreover, as mentioned in 2009 IHD Village Guard Report, as long as the village guards system proceeds, death incident as result of this system will continue.
Death in prisons and detention centers has continued. According to formal statistic of Ministry of Justice, 413 prisoners lost their lives in prisons in 2010. This shows how much the violation increases. This number was 319 in previous year. Also one of reasons behind the increase in the number of prisoner who lost their lives is that ill prisoners are not treated. This shows ignorance of the government and its special policy for prisons.
Now, 263 ill prisoners of whom 263 are seriously ill are still waiting for treatment and release. The increase in the number of prisoner is concrete indicator of increasing pressure policy on the society. While the number of prisoner was 116.340 by the end of 2009, it was 122.404 in January 2011. This number increased to 124.074 in April 2011.
Death of six people in detention centers in 2010 shows that the police state practices are clearly applied in Turkey.
In 2010 death of civilian because of expulsion of land mines and unclaimed bombs continued. While in 2009 legal regulation for clearing land mines in Syria was made, there was not any measure for land mine in Turkey which the country facing main problems regarding the land mines. Although there are areas with land mines near residential areas in 9 cities in Turkey there were any concrete developments regarding land mines areas which should be cleared until 2014 in accordance with Ottova Agreement.
In 2009, Turkey officially accepted the Kurdish question. Yet since then, there was any constitutional and legal regulation for peaceful and democratic solution of Kurdish question. Thus armed conflicts increased despite one sided decision of inaction. Number of people who lost their lives in armed conflicts which was 141 in 2009 increased to 244 in 2010. This demonstrates that the situation is getting worse. In this context, the ignorance and marginalization policies in the Kurdish question should be left behind and the will of state and government for constitutional and legal solution, as necessity of recognition, should be present. Also, unnamed policies of state of emergency of the government against the civil obedience action by Kurds in 2011 contain threat of civil war in itself.
The Government did not abolish the village guards system and not recognize the conscientious objection in 2010. Yet the government made legal regulation on the establishment of Professional Army, built new border posts, military shelter in border regions, and police station in some special regions, sent special operation force to the region, establish new institutions similar with Undersecretaries for Public Security. All of these acts show that there is a clear war preparation. Yet on the other hand, meeting with Abdullah Öcalan who is leader of PKK creates hope for peace process to be continued.
Since the Kurdish question along with armed conflict has not been solved for long years, a violence culture was created and nationalism and chauvinism become widespread. Such condition causes an increase in suspicious police and soldier suicide.
Lynch attempts against Kurdish people in İnegöl in Bursa and Dörtyol in Hatay shows what we would experience in the future if the Kurdish question is not solved. These attempts also show that public security was not ensured.
Moreover, violations of the right to life of women and children have unfortunately not decreased. Honor killings, women and children suicides and death are the issues that can be handled with in situation of peace, not armed conflict.
TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT
In 2010, many claims on torture and ill-treatment and cruel inhuman degrading treatment and punishment have widespread made. The 12 September regime and afterwards armed conflict caused the existence of impunity culture in Turkey. It should be claim that without fighting against impunity culture, ıt is not possible to see any decrease in torture and ill-treatment claims. Unfortunately, the slogan “zero tolerance to torture” could not be actualized in 2010. According to official statistics of Ministry of Justice, 438 people have been put on trial as crime suspects, this number increased to 707 in 2009. This increase was also mentioned in 2009 and 2010 IHD Violation Reports. These statistic shows that the government did not perform its preventive tasks. On the other side, while in 2008, 11256 cases were opened in accordance with article of 265 of Turkish Penal Code (TCK), using violence or threats against a public official to prevent them from carrying out a duty and in these trial 18859 people who alleged to have committed this offence were judged, this number of people increased to 22.195. This shows that the impunity culture continues in 2010.
Optional Protocol to the Convention of Torture (OPCAT) did not get through assembly in 2010 although the government promised that it was ratified in 2009. The OPCAT was approved by the TBMM in 2011 before the TBMM closed. In the context of OPCAT, there is need to establish National Preventive Mechanism to cope with ill-treatment and torture. It should be noted that if this mechanism is not established together with Non-Governmental Organization, it cannot be successful.
FREEDOMS OF THOUGHT, EXPRESSION AND PRESS
There are several regulations to limit exercising these rights in the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) (Articles of 134, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 220/6,7 and 8, 222, 277, 285, 288, 300, 301, 305, 314/3, 318 and 341), in the Anti-Terror Law, in the Misdemeanor Law, in the Law No 2911, in the Law on Political Parties, in the Law on Trade Unions, in the Association Law and in the Law on Protection of Atatürk. In 2010, the government made no changes within these regulations. According to the official statistics given by the Ministry of Justice, in 2008 340 people were sued charging with the violation of privacy of private life (TCK 134). This number augmented to 791 in 2009. In 2008, 235 people were sued charging with violation of privacy of the investigation (TCK 285). This number augmented to 2.455 in 2009. In 2008, 61 people were sued charging with attempting to influence on fair trial (TCK288). This number augmented to 492 in 2009. 248 people were sued charging with the violation of the law of TCK 301. Investigations opened against the press officers reached to thousands. These prohibitions on the freedom of expression cause many politicians, human rights defenders, journalists, intellectuals and authors, students and mayors being sued as ‘illegal’. The year of 2010 has turned to a bad year in terms of the freedoms of expression and press.
RIGHTS TO MEETING AND DEMONSTRATION
In 2010, the violations of these rights increased gradually. Interferences made by the security forces into the demonstrations and meetings caused several heavy violations of these rights. Total number of the demonstrations and meetings which were interfered initially in Eastern and Southern Anatolian region is 278. This bad situation in the rights to association and demonstration is also shown in the official statistics given by the Ministry of Justice. According to the statistics of the Ministry, 3.294 people in 2007, 3.778 people in 2008 and 8.251 people in 2009 were being sued due to violation of the Law No 2911 on meetings and demonstrations. As the government does not tolerate the criticism against it, it uses force against the demonstrations that include the criticisms against it. The report on ‘Interference into Democratic Solution Tents and Civil Disobedience Actions’ of the IHD issued on 5 May 2011 shows clearly that the right to demonstration is not being practiced. The statements of the TTB (Turkish Medical Association) explains that overuse of pepper gas used during the demonstrations is amount to effects of chemical weapon on human body. This danger must be ended.
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
In 2010, 5 associations were closed down upon the trials opened against them. The over-closure cases were opened against 4 associations. Offices of political parties and associations were attacked 105 times by unknown perpetrator or perpetrators. In 2010, the violations of this right continued to happen because of the fact that the general elections occurred even though the political party regime was not changed and the 10% election threshold was not diminished.
INDIVIDUAL SECURITY AND LIBERTY WITH THE RIGHTS OF PRISONER
There were 112 prisoners that are extremely sick and need to be released in order to be medically treated in prisons in 2010. By the end of 2010, total numbers of people who have been held in prisons were 122.404 persons. 55.407 people of them are detainee, 66.997 people of them are condemned. High rate of judgment with arrest (which is 45,3%) proves that this detention regime has very heavy effects. The rate of the judgment with arrest kept its high level. The violations of rights in prisons have been still at high degree.
1.857 children were arrested and 211 children were condemned in prisons in 2010. The rate of detentions of children is 85,6%. In 2009, Turkey violated heavily the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Due to changes made in the Anti-Terror Law, the children will not be tried in the Special Competent Heavy Penal Courts. On the other hand, children still face with the same criminal charges before the Juvenile High Criminal Courts because the types of the crimes which children commit have not been changed. The judgments occur within these courts. It is a tragicomically fact that a child who threw a stone still can be charged with membership of illegal organization, making propaganda for illegal organization, violation of the Law no 2911 and showing resistance to policemen. Yet, in 2011 detainment of the children who threw stones to the police were started. The enforcement of the special competent high criminal courts which are the former of the State Security Courts proves the existence of oppressive penal system. 18 people were injured, 50 houses and 45 workplaces were raided and 7 cars were ruined because of 6 lynch attempts in 2011. The IHD İstanbul Branch’s special report on the lynching shows that it is unlikely to give up this culture of lynch so easily. The fact that lynch attempts happen so easily shows that this is a serious problem for personal security in sake of all citizens. In 2010, there is no new development in combatting against discrimination as well as hate crimes.
RIGHTS OF REFUGEE AND ASYLUM SEEKERS
There has been no concrete progress in this area in 2010. Expensive residence fees that are taken from asylum seekers continue to cause serious problems. As Turkey is a transit country, 19.553 migrants and asylum-seekers were taken into custody in 2010.
PRESSURE AGAINST HUMAN RIGHT DEFENDERS
The pressure against the human rights defenders continued in 2010. IHD Vice-President Lawyer Muharrem Erbey’s imprisonment (which was started in December 2009) continued. IHD Diyarbakır Branch executives Rosa Erdede and Aslan Özdemir have been under detention since April 2009. Imprisonment of Chair of IHD Siirt Branch Vetha Aydın (which was started in March 2010) was ended in March 2011. Imprisonments of IHD Mardin Branch executive Abdulkadir Çurgatay and IHD Aydın Branch executives have continued. IHD Executive Board Member Gençağa Karafazlı’s imprisonment (which was started in June 2009) was ended in August 2010. There are still many ongoing investigations and court cases against many IHD executives and members and Ms. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, HRFT General President. These trials and investigations opened against HRDs show that the United Nations of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly to which Turkey is a state party, was not implemented in practice. In spite of the Ministry of Interior Affair’s Circular no. 2004/139, pressure against human right defender has increased in practice, which proves that state’s approach towards human rights is security-oriented. There is not an impartial and independent human right institution in Turkey. Draft law about this institution has still waited before the Constitution Commission under the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). For your information, human rights organizations stated that draft law should be retracted.
In conclusion, in the context of the human rights in Turkey, there has not occurred any improvement in the topics mentioned above. The government officially follows the ‘Ankara Criteria’ rather than the ‘Copenhagen Criteria’. This means to us that it has become a ‘state of police’. Since the beginning of 2011, we would like to state that we are facing with more authoritarian political power establishing an oppressive regime.
HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS