Accompanied by our Party Assembly member Ms. Ayşe Berktay and Istanbul MP Ms. Hüda Kaya, an international delegation organized by the EU Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC) went to Edirne Prison to visit our co-chair Mr. Selahattin Demirtaş. The delegation blocked from Demirtas visit in prison.
The delegation members made a statement in front of Edirne Prison and stated below:
“It’s urgent that the peace process be recommence”
Thomas Jeffrey Miley, a Lecturer from the University of Cambridge: Our delegation is consisting of members from Europe and North America, including Members of European Parliament and of the Council of Europe, academics, and journalists. 3 days ago we were in Diyarbakır. We had meetings with representatives from the Kurdish Movement, political parties, trade unions, and other civil society organizations and local people. We observed the situation in there for 3 days. We got informed about the ongoing infringements of rights since unraveling of the peace process.
One of the main mission of our delegation has been to see Mr Öcalan, the leader of Kurdish movement. For over a decade now Mr Öcalan has been a consistent and a strong voice that calling for peace between Turkish State and Kurdish people. His isolation in inhumane conditions has been the parcel of the escalation in unraveling the peace process which is led to so many deaths. It’s urgent that the peace process be recommence and the current escalation of violence be stopped. The Kurdish Freedom Movement cannot be defeated militarily, there must be political solution.
We intend to distribute a report on our findings and observations about the dire abuses on human rights that are going on especially in the run up to the referendum which we witnessed.
"We will keep coming back until we get the permission to see our imprisoned colleagues"
Member of the European Parliament Julie Ward: We see that there are huge increases in the numbers of detained and arrested people, students, teachers, academicians, civil servants. Democracy is under attack here. Because I’m a democratically elected member of European Parliament, I wanted to be here to support my colleagues, my comrades, to support people who are alike me, who stood for election, who democratically elected and now they have been detained and imprisoned in inhumane conditions.
This is not the first high level delegation that has stood outside of this prison gates. Members of the Party of European Socialists were here in November and they were also then asking for permission to see Mr. Demirtaş.
Every time we are denied, we’ll come back, we’ll broadcast this, we’ll tell the world that we are not allowed to see this democratically elected members of parliament. We will keep coming back until we get the permission to see our imprisoned colleagues.
While this situation continue in Turkey everybody is suffering, economy is suffering, tourism is suffering, ant Turkey’s profile in globally is suffering. It’s really important in terms of progress, in terms of everybody’s economic prosperity and in terms of social inclusion that democracy is upheld. And terrorism cannot be used as an excuse to shut down opposition and other voices. A strong state is a state that can have a healthy opposition.
" Our colleagues are put to prison just because opposing the ruling government "
Ulla Sandbaek, Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (from Denmark): We are two member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe here. We are going to have a debate about Turkey in April. The resolution that we want to make out of this debate is Turkey should go back to the peace process. For us it’s very important to know what is standing in the way to return to the peace process. So we do have to criticize what is going on in Turkey now. We’re standing now in front of a prison where our colleagues are put to prison just because opposing the ruling government. They are not terrorists, they done nothing wrong. But for your government going back to peace process instead of putting in prison those who oppose is the thing we need to witness.
“What happened in Northern Ireland is similar the things happening in Turkey now”
Father Joe Ryan, the Chair of the Westminster Justice and Peace Commission: I’m the Chair of the Westminster Justice and Peace Commission and my task is to be concerned with human rights and to indicate what the catholic church is teaching on human rights. One of the things that I’m concerned with is the violation of the human rights. What happened in Northern Ireland is similar the things happening in Turkey now, the denial of human rights. It’s honour to be here to support our sisters and brother who are in a very difficult situation here. And I’ve seen a deterioration of the society since my last visit which was a year ago. When we return to England there will be a meeting at the House of Common and we will give our report of findings.
The delegation includes current Member of the European Parliament Julie Ward; one former MEP, Francis Wurtz; two current representatives from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Miren Edurne Gorrotxategi and Ulla Sandbaek; a former Member of Iceland’s Parliament and trade unionist, Ögmundur Jonasson; the veteran Foreign Correspondent for The Guardian, Jonathan Steele; the Chair of the Westminster Justice and Peace Commission, Father Joe Ryan; two members of the Advisory Board of the Transnational Institute for Social Ecology, Dimitri Roussopoulos and Federico Venturini; and Thomas Jeffrey Miley, a Lecturer from the University of Cambridge.
Our Istanbul MP Hüda Kaya also made a brief statement. Ms. Kaya said:"We are in front of Edirne Prison with our friends from the European Parliament and activist friends from various countries to visit our Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş. Our delegation had applied to the Ministry of Justice, yet we received no reply until today. However, once we arrived here, we found out that our application has been rejected. I, too, as a Member of Parliament, have not been allowed to meet with our Co-Chair. There can be no [acceptable] explanation to imprison our MPs, who are the political representatives of millions of people. I wish Turkey was not in the world news today for such violations of human rights, such acts of injustice. Public opinion and conscience across the world will condemn the government for incarcerating the MPs and Co-Chairs of the 3rd largest party in the country during such a critical period."
17 February 2017