15 February 2007

1. "European Council: Ocalan cannot be re-tried", European Council of Ministers is today expected to announce its view on whether or not imprisoned PKK head Abdullah Ocalan should be re-tried. According to reports, the committee is expected to advise that there is "no need" for Ocalan to face another trial.

2. "Turkey’s election threshold and the European Court", the 10 percent election threshold for Turkey’s parliamentary elections has been a topic of debate for some time.

3. "Invitations in Kurdish Considered a Crime", Ankara 3rd Court of First Instance condemns 13 administrators of the pro-Kurdish Rights and Freedoms Party for using Kurdish language on the invitations to the party congress. Such cases avert efforts for dialogue, defendants argued.

4. "Prostest Against Racist Gathering", 10 members of the Basic Rights and Freedoms Association protested the recently broadcasted oath-taking ceremony by a nationalist group, which included hate-speech and openly racist remarks. Protesters demanded a legal investigation into the incident.

5. "EP passes report critical of women's rights in Turkey", the European Parliament yesterday adopted a report on women's role in social, economic and political life in Turkey, saying Turkish legislation on women's rights has greatly improved, but the Turkish woman in the street often does not felt the effects.

6. "Turkish novelist flees to US 'in fear for life'", the Turkish novelist and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk is living in exile in the United States and is believed to be in fear for his life.

1. - Hurriyet - "European Council: Ocalan cannot be re-tried":

STRASBOURG / 14 February 2007

European Council of Ministers is today expected to announce its view on whether or not imprisoned PKK head Abdullah Ocalan should be re-tried. According to reports, the committee is expected to advise that there is "no need" for Ocalan to face another trial.

As it is, the European Council of Ministers Secretariat has broadcast its suggestion that the Council reject proposing a re-trial for Ocalan, noting that Ocalan is not a "suspect" but has already been tried and convicted, noting that his defense during trial in Turkey invoked the equivilent of "admissions."

In 2005, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Ocalan's trial had not been fair. This decision opened the way to calls on the part of Ocalan's lawyers that their client should be re-tried. In Ankara however, on May 5, 2005, the Ankara 11th High Criminal Court ruled to overturn any appeals for a re-trial on the part of Ocalan.

Meanwhile, Ocalan's lawyers are protesting the expected suggestion of the European Council of Ministers, and have sent a letter to the Council calling on them to reconsider their decision.

2. - Todays Zaman - "Turkey’s election threshold and the European Court":

14 February 2007 / by Dr. Ergün Özbudun

The 10 percent election threshold for Turkey’s parliamentary elections has been a topic of debate for some time.

The debate reached a new dimension with the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights on Jan. 30.
The case was filed by Mehmet Yumak and Resul Sadak, who won 46 percent of the popular vote in the southeastern province of Sirnak in the 2002 general election but did not gain seats in the parliament as the Democratic People’s Party (DEHAP) polled less than 10 percent nationwide. The plaintiffs claimed the third article of Protocol 1 of the European court had been violated.

According to this article, “the High Contracting Parties undertake to hold free elections at reasonable intervals by secret ballot, under conditions which will ensure the free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature.” The European court said the barrier was not a violation of human rights.

The court said the agreement did not impose an election system on member governments and allowed them some level of autonomy. As the court had determined, there are multi-election systems in European countries. In most countries, proportional representation is allowed. In England, there is a one-round system and in France a two-round election system. Some countries have decided to combined both systems, like Italy, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine and Germany. Majority systems can some times yield more unfair results than proportional representative systems. In fact, a small party can be completely eliminated. Among the countries that employ proportional representational, many use a national threshold. In Germany, Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic the threshold is 5 percent. In Sweden and Bulgaria it’s 4 percent; in Lichtenstein, 8 percent and in Denmark, 2 percent.

Some of these countries employ a higher threshold for coalition parties that participate in the elections together. While the court found it “desirable” for Turkey to reduce its 10 percent threshold, it said it did not violate the human rights agreement. The court describes a human rights violation as when the citizens of a particular country do not have equal opportunity to vote or to use their rights to be elected. This principle does not mean every vote will have equal value. There is no election system that prevents some votes from being disregarded.

While the European court decision has been found appropriate, it does not rule out the idea that Turkey can take initiative on its own to change the election threshold. It is known that the 10 percent threshold can lead to unfair results, like in the 2002 elections when only two parties were able to pass the national threshold. This unfairness is very striking in the Southeast.

This situation prevents the real representatives of the southeastern public from representing and engaging in meaningful political dialogue in the Turkish parliament, bringing forth serious political problems. A few examples from the 2002 parliamentary elections will illustrate the situation better.

In Diyarbakir, DEHAP received 56 percent of the vote but was not able to win any seats; the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) received 16 percent but won eight seats; and the Republican People’s Party (CHP) garnered 5.9 percent and won two seats.

In Hakkari, DEHAP received 45 percent of the vote but won no seats; the CHP received 8 percent and won one seat; and the AK Party received 7 percent and took one seat. In Batman, the DEHAP got 47 percent of the vote but won no seats; the AK Party received 20.6 percent and won three seats; the CHP received 7 percent of votes cast and won one seat.

In Sirnak, DEHAP received 46 percent of all votes but won no seats; the AK Party received 14 percent of the vote and won two seats; and the CHP received 4.7 percent and won one seat.

There are two paths that can be taken here. The first is reducing the national election threshold to 4 or 5 percent; the second is keeping the 10 percent threshold but modifying the system to reduce the high level of unfairness.

While the first plan could theoretically be defended, we must keep in mind our constitution’s election laws on modifying the number of representatives as well as the administration’s stability principle. Since the next 10 years are expected to be very critical for Turkey, there could be a strong need for a stable and one-party administration.

In 1995, the Constitutional Court determined the 10 percent election threshold did not violate the principle of equitable representation. But if the second path is chosen, then there are two options. The first is the authority of Turkey’s parliamentary mandate, which is supported by AK Party leaders. According to this, a portion of the 555 members of parliament, such as 100 parliamentarians, would be elected according to proportional representation in lists that have no threshold or a low threshold (such as 2 or 3 percent) and the others would be elected by the 10 percent threshold.

However, since in 1995 the Constitutional Court ruled that Turkey’s parliamentary mandate violated the constitution, in order to follow this path, a constitutional amendment would be necessary. Turkey’s parliamentary mandate helped small parties have a level of representation in Turkish parliament and created a diverse organism that benefits the pubic, but it is quite clear that representation does not resolve unfairness.

The second path, which I defend, is to exclude parties that receive a certain level of votes from the threshold like they do in Germany, Sweden and Denmark. In Turkey, parties that have won the highest number of votes or a certain level (such as 40 percent) should not be subject to the election threshold. This would help to reduce unfair representation, especially in the Southeast.

3. - Bianet - "Invitations in Kurdish Considered a Crime":

Ankara 3rd Court of First Instance condemns 13 administrators of the pro-Kurdish Rights and Freedoms Party for using Kurdish language on the invitations to the party congress. Such cases avert efforts for dialogue, defendants argued.

ANKARA / 14 February 2007

13 administrators of the Rights and Freedoms Party (Hak-Par) have been condemned to prison sentences varying between six months to one year for violating the Law on Political Parties (SPK).

All suspects were brought to trial because of sending invitations for the 1st general congress of the party in Kurdish.

Ankara 3rd Court of First Instance also decided to file a complaint for the closure of the party to the Head Prosecution of the Supreme Court of Appeals.

Fehmi Demir, Fettah Karagöz, Ayse Demir, Bayram Bozyel, Gönül Dabakoglu, Seref Yalçin, Necdet Gündem and Ilhan Güneri, who were tried for violating the article 117 of SPK, have been condemned to six months imprisonment which is rendered as a monetary fine in return.

The court ruled for one-year imprisonment for the former chair of the party Abdülmelik Firat, former vice chair Ibrahim Güçlü and other administrators on grounds of the "intense deliberation of the alleged crime".

All defendants gave their legal defenses in Kurdish during the trials, which were then translated into Turkish.

Saying that the use of Kurdish in party communications wouldn't be considered a crime with regard to international law and standards, Fehmi Demir urged the court to base its decision on such principles rather than the restrictive SPK.

Such cases block the way for a dialogue between different parts of the Turkish society, added Ibrahim Güçlü, urging for a pluralist and democratic approach.

Other defendants argued that Kurdish is their mother tongue and it shouldn't be considered a crime to use the language during the party congrass in question, which was held on January 4, 2004.

4. - Bianet - "Prostest Against Racist Gathering":

10 members of the Basic Rights and Freedoms Association protested the recently broadcasted oath-taking ceremony by a nationalist group, which included hate-speech and openly racist remarks. Protesters demanded a legal investigation into the incident.

MERSIN / 14 February 2007 / by Ardil Kirmizisac

Members of the Basic Rights and Freedoms Association protested an oath-taking ceremony by an extreme-nationalist group -so-called 'Kuvay-i Milliye' Association- in the city, whose images were recently revealed on televisions and websites.

Broadcasted images showed a retired army officer and several others gathered around a table and taking an oath to "protect the Turkish motherland", including hate-speech and racist connotations.

Mersin is among the cities where mass populations of Kurds, who have been forced to emigrate from the southeastern region of Turkey, domiciled in the last 20 years.

During the periods when tension rise following lack of resolution in the decades long Kurdish issue, Mersin had witnessed incidents of clashes between the Kurdish population and nationalists in recent years.

Protesters gathered in front of the Kuvay-i Milliye Association's offices and called for an investigation into the racist, nationalist remarks captured and broadcasted.

5. - The New Anatolian - "EP passes report critical of women's rights in Turkey":

BRUSSELS / 14 February 2007

The European Parliament yesterday adopted a report on women's role in social, economic and political life in Turkey, saying Turkish legislation on women's rights has greatly improved, but the Turkish woman in the street often does not felt the effects.

The report by Turkish-origin Dutch MEP Emine Bozkurt passed by 522-15 with 53 abstentions follows the EP's July 2005 resolution on women's role in Turkey, highlighting key areas of concern. It welcomes the start of active EU accession negotiations with Turkey, but "regrets the slowing down of the reform process in Turkey over the last year and the persistent problem with women's rights" and reiterates the EP's call for "full and effective implementation of the community acquis in the field of women's rights, particularly in the poorer regions of the country."

The MEPs urged the Turkish government to speed up implementation of the new legislation on women's rights so as to ensure that it is absolutely in line with the requirements of the acquis and effectively implemented in practice.

The report condemns "instances of violence against women, including "honor" killings, domestic violence, forced marriage and polygamy." It calls on the Turkish government and European Commission to tackle "violence in general and honor crime in particular" as a priority and to set up special high-security shelters. The report also "stresses the importance of systematic investigation and effective punishment" and therefore the training of police and judicial authorities in gender equality issues and the fight against violence. The MEPs called on Turkish institutions to build alliances with all groupings -- civil, social or religious -- in society so as to initiate awareness-raising campaigns against violence against women and children.

The report says that the political participation by women in Turkey is too low and that there is an absolute need for female role models in positions of power and decision-making. The MEPs added that discrimination against women can sometimes best be remedied by temporary positive discrimination measures. They also urged the political parties in Turkey, starting with this year's general elections, to field more female candidates.

6. - Telegraph - "Turkish novelist flees to US 'in fear for life'":

14 February 2007 / by Damien McElroy

The Turkish novelist and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk is living in exile in the United States and is believed to be in fear for his life.

Amid a climate of intimidation that has seen the prosecution and even murder of dissident intellectuals throwing into doubt Turkey's aspiration to the join the European Union, Mr Pamuk, 54, who is living in New York, is said to have told friends he has set no deadline for his return. Instead, according to the prominent Istanbul columnist Fatih Altayli, the writer has quietly gone into exile.

"What I was told was more than mere rumour," said Mr Altayli. "Pamuk recently withdrew $400,000 from his bank account and said he would leave Turkey and would not be returning to his country any time soon."

Following the murder of an ethnic Armenian journalist, Hrant Dink, last month, Mr Pamuk expressed fears for his own safety. The writer enraged Turkish nationalists by acknowledging that under the Ottoman empire Turks had triggered the genocide of one million Armenians nearly a century ago.

Such is the sensitivity of Mr Pamuk's position, his agent and others close to the novelist have declined invitations to comment publicly on Mr Altayli's allegation.

During the 1990s Mr Pamuk, whose novels includes Cevdet Bey and His Sons and The Black Book, began to write candidly about human rights issues and free speech in Turkey. The country's authorities vociferously campaign against any suggestion that the state has inherited responsibility for the unacknowledged massacre of Armenians.

In an interview with a Swiss newspaper last year, Mr Pamuk said: "One million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds were killed in these lands but no one but me dares talk about it."

Two weeks ago, Mr Pamuk abruptly cancelled a speaking tour of Germany, fearing that his engagements would expose him to hostile elements within the diaspora. Yasin Hayal, a nationalist charged with incitement to murder Mr Dink, made what appeared to be a threat against Mr Pamuk.
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He said: "Orhan Pamuk be careful."

With its candidacy to join the EU already troubled by suspicion of its Islamic government and the treatment of its Kurdish minority, Turkey would be dealt a further blow if its most prominent writer decided he was no longer safe in his homeland.

The damage would be compounded because Mr Pamuk is the foremost chronicler of Istanbul as the meeting point of Europe and Asia.

In meetings with Western leaders, Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister, has moved to address concerns that the law granted a veneer of legitimacy to the shadowy figures who were threatening its liberal intellectuals.

He has promised reforms of an ambiguous law that allows nationalists to demand punishment for those they accuse of insulting the Turkish nation.

Mr Gul admitted that Turkey's standing had been damaged by Mr Dink's murder and the threat to Mr Pamuk.

"People outside Turkey think you can be thrown into jail for opening your mouth," he said.

"They think there are hundreds of journalists and intellectuals in jail. This is all false."

But he warned that outside pressure for greater tolerance of dissenting views was counter-productive, strengthening support for nationalist politicians in the run-up to a general election later this year.