Cumhuriyet Editor-in-Chief Can Dündar and the daily’s Ankara Bureau Chief Erdem Gül were arrested Nov. 26 due to a story about Turkish intelligence trucks bound for Syria in early 2014.

“We are accused of ‘spying.’ The president said [our action is] ‘treason.’ We are not traitors, spy, or heroes; we are journalists. What we have done here was a journalistic activity,” Dündar said before testifying to prosecutors Nov. 26.

“Of course this prosecution will help enlighten how these incidents took place, rather than how we covered this story.”

Dündar and Gül were arrested on charges of espionage and being a member of an armed terrorist organization based on reports in  Cumhuriyet regarding Syrian-bound trucks sent by the National Intelligence Agency (MİT).

The armed organization mentioned by the prosecutors refers to Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), a term used by prosecutors to define the followers of Fethullah Gülen, a U.S.-based Islamic scholar.

Footage released by Cumhuriyet on May 29 reportedly showed gendarmerie and police officers opening crates on the back of trucks which contained what the daily described as weapons and ammunition sent to Syria by MİT in January 2014.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan filed an individual criminal complaint against Dündar and Cumhuriyet on June 2, claiming that the story “included some footage and information that are not factual” while saying the person “who wrote the story will pay a heavy price.”

The criminal complaint, which was filed to the Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office to be sent to Istanbul where Cumhuriyet is based, argued that the newspaper “participated in the actions” of the U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, Erdoğan’s erstwhile ally, whose followers are accused of infiltrating the police, the judiciary and the bureaucracy.

“By publishing fabricated footage and information that were leaked to him by the parallel organization, [Dündar] participated in the actions of the organization’s members who searched the trucks and plotted with fabricated evidence to create a perception … that the Republic of Turkey as helping terrorist organizations,” the complaint said.

The plaintiff accused Dündar of both “trying to manipulate justice” with fabricated material and “violating confidentiality” by publishing the story. Erdoğan’s lawyer, Muammer Cemaloğlu, also requested the prosecutor launch a public lawsuit following the investigation.

Erdoğan said on Nov. 24 that whether or not the trucks carried weapons was irrelevant.

“What difference would it make whether the trucks contained weapons or not?” he asked, defining the publishing of the story as a “betrayal.”

Erdoğan claimed the trucks were set to deliver humanitarian aid to Bayırbucak Turkmens and that the journalists were complicit in “sabotaging” this aid merely to harm the image of himself and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.

Source

I have been asked by foreign journalists several times over the last few days on whether I think the Turkish election that took place at the start of November was rigged. It’s an emotionally loaded question, and should be treated rationally. So I can give you some numbers:

While the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) maintained its votes compared to the June 7 elections, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the (Kurdish) Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP) lost 2 million and 1 million votes, respectively. Two small parties that had entered the elections together in June got 300K less this time. There were also 1.3 million additional votes compared to June. Of this, 600K were due to new votes (of which 200K were new registered voters). There were also 700K less invalid votes. Interestingly, more than half of the additional votes were from Istanbul, where the share of invalid votes shrank significantly.

If you do the math, all of this adds up to the 4.5 million extra votes the Justice and Development Party (AKP) got compared to June 7. In other words, it could be that the AKP got all the possible votes it could; most of the defections from other parties as well as the additional votes. Add in other possible factors, such as the speed of the vote count and early victory declarations in the pro-government media, and you can see why people are suspicious.

However, the independent election monitoring initiative Vote and Beyond (Oveo) has stated that minor discrepancies between its own reports and the official results had no bearing on the final outcome. They were present in 50,000-60,000 of the 175,000 ballot boxes. But what about the two thirds of total votes they didn’t monitor? After all, I would assume that their presence is not random, no matter how hard they tried.

The economist Erik Meyersson has analysed the election. He has found that, while the MHP’s votes seem to have been adversely affected, “the AKP and HDP vote counts also show evidence consistent with some form of tampering,” especially outside the largest five provinces. “The CHP vote count, on the other hand,” he writes, “shows predominantly little change across the different tests.”

____________________

Read Erik Meyerson’s analysis:

Digit Tests and the Peculiar Election Dynamics of Turkey’s November Elections

____________________

Meyersson underlines that “this analysis shows evidence that would be consistent with widespread voting manipulation, not proof of it.” I personally don’t see any major problems with his methodology, although a couple of statisticians I spoke to were very critical. But if nothing else, his analysis should lead us to more work. I would especially want him to conduct his tests separately for the Oveo and non-Oveo ballot boxes.

I’ll let Meyersson conclude: “Sunday’s landslide victory by the AKP represents a remarkable comeback for a government that, according to the overwhelming majority of polling companies, looked set to repeat its June loss. Many are now pointing fingers at these pollsters (and analysts overall), asking how they could have been so wrong. But what if they weren’t?”

Emre Deliveli is a Turkish economist and columnist for Hürriyet Daily News

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/was-the-turkish-election-rigged-a6724226.html

]]> https://chpbrussels.org/2015/11/06/was-the-turkish-election-rigged/feed/ 0 Independent chpbrussels https://chpbrussels.org/2015/11/02/turkishparliamentaryelections_nov/ https://chpbrussels.org/2015/11/02/turkishparliamentaryelections_nov/#respond Mon, 02 Nov 2015 14:43:42 +0000 http://chpbrussels.org/?p=1241 Continue reading →]]>

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CHP President Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s press meeting on the elections: 

Turkey’s Republican People’s Party (CHP), which had entertained hopes of making gains through a constructive election campaign, failed to increase its votes significantly in the Nov. 1 polls, remaining the country’s main opposition party.

The leader of the social democrat party, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, said late on Nov. 1 after the annoucement of the initial results that the responsibility on the party’s shoulders had incerased.

The country faced a second election under extraordinary conditions between the June 7 election and the reelection on Nov. 1.

“Some 400 people died in this period,” he said. “This should be evaluated very carefully.”

Responding to question on whether he would resign, Kılıçdaroğlu said the executive bodies of the party would decide on the matter, praising the CHP for “bringing democracy to the country.”

A senior official from the party told Reuters while the votes were being counted that there was no likelihood of a coalition government.

The party, which succeeded in becoming the first party in just six provinces out of 81 across the country, won 135 of 550 seats, according to initial results.

The CHP won 131 seats with a little less than 25 percent of the votes in the June 7 elections that resulted in a re-election after no parties were able to form a one-party or coalition government.   The party increased its votes in Istanbul, the largest city in the country, by two points to 30 percent but still won only 28 MPs, the same number as the election five months ago. The party ran its campaign on economic promises. (Hurriyet Daily News)

The number of female deputies representing the four political parties in the Turkish parliament has dropped from a record number of 95 to 81, the unofficial results of the Nov. 1 snap elections have revealed.

Accordingly, some 21 seats occupied by female deputies from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) will still be held by women when the 26th term of parliament opens following the announcement of the official results by the Supreme Election Board (YSK).

Yet, the other three parties will have less female deputies when compared to the 25th term of parliament, which opened after the June 7 parliamentary elections and served for only five months.

The Justice and Development Party (AKP), which managed to win a landslide victory sufficient to form a single-party government, will have 34 women lawmakers, while this number was 40 after June 7. The number of women deputies from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) dropped from 30 to 23, while the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has again come up with the least number of women deputies, with a decrease from four to three. (Hurriyet Daily News)

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Turkey election: OSCE says ‘serious concerns’ over vote

European observers have said violence marred the run-up to polls in Turkey in which the Justice and Development Party (AKP) regained its majority.
The OSCE said that an increase in violence, particularly in the south-east, “restricted some contestants’ ability to campaign freely”.
It also criticised curbs on media freedom.

Turkish election campaign was unfair

Earlier Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the world to respect the result of Sunday’s election.
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) went further and denounced the entire process as “unfair”.
In a statement on Monday, Ignacio Sanchez Amor, head of the OSCE observer mission, said: “Physical attacks on party members, as well as the significant security concerns, particularly in the south-east” had affected campaigning.
He added that pressure on journalists – including a police raid on the Koza-Ipek media group in Istanbul last week – was a major concern.
“Unfortunately, the campaign for these elections was characterized by unfairness and, to a serious degree, fear,” said Andreas Gross, Head of the PACE delegation.

Responding to reports of pressure on journalists, the White House spokesman John Earnest said the US had urged Turkey “to uphold universal democratic values.”

By BBC Monitoring

Download the OSCE Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions

Photo: Cihan

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), has issued a call for all Turkish citizens to act with common sense in the face of growing public outrage against escalating acts of terror, which have in some places turned into violent attacks on political parties and media organizations.

“Today is the day to display our years-old brotherhood once again to the world. I invite my citizens to act with common sense,” Kılıçdaroğlu said Sept. 9, through his Twitter account.

Kılıçdaroğlu’s message came after anti-terror marches held across Turkey turned into violent attacks on the bureaus of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Kurdish citizens living in the Western parts of the country and media organizations.

Turkey is passing through a tough test to maintain societal peace, Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said, amid ongoing tension following deadly terrorist attacks that sparked violent public demonstrations across Turkey targeting citizens of Kurdish origin.

Turkey passing through a tough test for societal peace

“We have given 107 martyrs. We attended another funeral today. Turkey is passing through a difficult test to maintain its societal peace. This test is for all of us. We must pass this test for our republic, for our children, and for contemporary Turkey,” Kılıçdaroğlu said at a press conference in Ankara on Sept. 9.

He said the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) had been trying to divide the people of Turkey and to create enmity within society for the last 30 years, but vowed that “Whatever you do, we won’t be divided.”

The people must be careful not to fall into the “traps of provocateurs” in their anti-terror protests, Kılıçdaroğlu also said. “Turning our demonstrations into violent acts would only serve the terrorist organization. Let’s denounce terrorism, let’s march against it with our flags in our hands, but let’s do all of this in line with our values,” he added.

“Our 77 million people should be very sensitive about this. I particularly call on my young friends: You are the future of this country. No one has even the smallest doubt about your love for your homeland. Please do not be provoked,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, stressing that stoning buses carrying Kurdish citizens or bureaus of political parties would lead to division in society, in line with the PKK’s objectives.

‘President should have called for calm’

“I’d like to see the president make such calls [for calm]. I’d like to see him defending brotherhood, promoting the unity of the country, and calling on youngsters to stay away from provocations,” the CHP leader said.

“Our views may be different but we are breathing the same air. We should be able to be together in both our bad and good days,” he added.

Clearly referring to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Kılıçdaroğlu also called on all political parties to put a distance between themselves and terrorist organizations. “Terror is a crime against humanity. Full stop. We will stand against terror. Full stop,” he said.

‘Media freedom a must’

Referring to recent attacks on the media after daily Hürriyet’s headquarters were violently attacked for the second time in two days, Kılıçdaroğlu emphasized the need to protect freedom of expression for a healthy democracy.

“The media and the press are our eyes and ears. We may or may not buy a particular newspaper. We may or may not read it. But we will not accept any pressure on the media. The media must freely work,” he said.

“Accusing and attacking the media is never right. We cannot accept this,” Kılıçdaroğlu added.

September/09/2015

Hürriyet Daily News

Please also read:

CHP leader blames Erdoğan’s ‘400 deputies’ aspirations for violence

PM Davutoğlu meets CHP leader upon PKK attack

Funeral ceremonies held for 15 police officers recently killed by PKK

CHP, MHP urge gov’t to disclose number of casualties in PKK attack

“This is not just an election manifesto. Today we are announcing a comprehensive document of a vision that no party has ever been able to draft for Turkey and its future” CHP Leader Kılıçdaroğlu said in his party’s election campaign launch in İstanbul on April 19, using the election slogan “Milletçe Akışlıyoruz” (We Applaud as a Nation).

“We know the situation of citizens – tradesmen, farmers and public servants – who are deep in debt. Turkey is unable to achieve growth or development. Wealth is not distributed in a just way. We have to rescue Turkey from the middle income trap. We have six significant projects that are attractive but will also directly solve citizens’ problems. We will tell our local branches to ‘just explain these six projects. Among these projects are two extra wages to be paid to pensioners and erasing 80% the past-due interest payments for people with credit card debts” said CHP Leader Kılıçdaroğlu, noting that nearly 5 million Turkish citizens had become indebted to banks in recent years.

Economic growth fell to 2.9 percent in 2014 from 4.2 a year earlier and the lira is down 12 percent versus the dollar this year. “Some 89,000 people have been imprisoned because they could not pay their debts, while 430,000 are at risk of being jailed just because of it. That’s why I criticize the government for turning the country into an open-air prison” said Kılıçdaroğlu. Bearing the slogan “a livable Turkey” the manifesto is divided into seven sections covering multiple topics from democracy and rule of law to public services, progress towards a knowledge economy to environment sustainability.

CHP Leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu pledged to strengthen the parliamentary system, saying the government had undermined the separation of powers, media freedom and EU candidate Turkey’s foreign relations.  “We will continue on our path, strengthening our parliamentary experience” he said.

Highlights from the CHP election manifesto:

– Thanks to a family insurance system the CHP will introduce, there will be no family earning less than 720 Turkish Liras a month. The minimum wage would also not be less than 1,500 liras, representing a 50 percent hike from its current amount. The amount of social aid granted to poor families will be doubled compared with that of today. A total of 16.7 million people and 3.5 million households would benefit from the aid, while women with small children would be granted TL 400 ($149) to cover nursery bills.

– We will increase the minimum wage and the minimum salary a retiree gets — currently TL 949 ($354) – by 58 percent to TL 1,500 ($560). We will grant retirees two one-month pension bonuses ahead of the holy month of Ramadan and the Eid al-Adha religious holiday.

– We promise to allow every family to own an apartment or to end high rents through a system in which families will pay only 277 liras a month for a 70-square-meter apartment.

– We promise to create employment for 1 million Turks through economic policies that envisage that creation of more jobs at a moment when official figures suggest more than 11 percent of the country is unemployed.

– Income tax rates will be diversified; everyone will be taxed according to their income

– A four person impoverished family will be guaranteed 230 KW/hour electricity for free

– Companies that employ at least 33 percent female employees will be given tax breaks

– Laws will be introduced banning law enforcement from using tear gas, disproportionate force and arbitrary searches and arrests

– The Higher Education Board (YÖK), established following a 1980 coup will be abolished as a step to further liberalize universities.

–  We will reduce the 10-percent election threshold to 5 percent.

– We will stop illegal spying and surveillance activities of the intelligence, police and telecommunication authorities to put an end to “intimidation” of the civil society

– We will turn Turkey into a strong European democracy in compliance with the EU norms and principles of the European Convention on Human Rights.

– We will introduce legislation to curtail arbitrary and excessive use of force and tear gas by the law enforcement.

– We will bring Turkish laws regulating Internet into line with international agreements it signed.

– A new constitution to be based on social and parliamentary consensus is a necessity to expand freedoms, strengthen the democracy and build social peace.

– An oversight commission in Parliament to be headed by the main opposition party will be established and tasked with scrutinizing the government conduct.

– Restructuring of juvenile courts and juvenile convictions, along with an end to juvenile arrests

– The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) will be divided into two boards, one for judges and the other for prosecutors, both given equal budgets

– Reduction of the current 10 percent election threshold needed for a political party to enter parliament down to 5 percent

– An additional 10 parliamentarians to represent Turkish citizens living abroad

– An end to legislative riders by outright banning omnibus bills

– Executive orders will not carry the weight of laws

– The CHP will seriously deal with the Kurdish question. We will establish a national inter-party commission to carry out the peace process. The right address for the resolution of the problem is the parliament. It is the CHP that can resolve this question because it’s the most courageous and honest party when it comes to resolving the Kurdish issue.

– Banning language restrictions in election campaigns and politics overall, particularly significant for Turkey’s Kurdish minority. Locations where names were forcibly changed will be returned to their former names, another issue of significance for Turkey’s Kurdish minority

– Official legal status will be granted to cemevis, the houses of worship for Turkey’s Alevi minority

– An end to mandatory religious education classes in schools

– Increasing Turkey’s mandatory 12 years of education to 13 years by including kindergarten and making mandatory education free

– Cancelling the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant

– Cancer screening trucks roaming the country offering free cancer screenings

– The 3rd Bosphorus Bridge, the North Marmara Highway and the 3rd Istanbul Airport projects will be reevaluated.

Yes we can: Four-legged realization strategy

Introducing a four-legged strategy for the realization of his promise, Kılıçdaroğlu said the first section was to ensure Turkey becomes one of the top 20 countries on the Human Development Index. “Our current rank is 69. Our objective is to move Turkey forward and to place it among the first 20 countries. Can we make it? Yes, we can,” he said.

The second leg of the strategy is to implement numerous measures to turn the country into a competitive economic actor by exiting the “middle income and middle technology trap”. “We need to develop a value-added industry based on technology production. To do so, we need to create an ‘information society.’ CHP Leader Kılıçdaroğlu said.

The third leg of the CHP strategy is to reinforce a constitutional principle of the “social state” to provide a fair distribution of the national wealth that has been severely damaged over the 13-year rule of current government. “They have implemented a very remorseless growth policy. Some people hit the jackpot while the number of the poor climbed. Let me give you a figure. In 2002, Turkey’s richest 1 percent grabbed 39 percent of the national wealth. This became 54 percent in 2014. This explains how we now have 17 million poor in the country. They have not opted to end poverty but manage it. They have turned the poor into their grassroots. But I promise there will be no poverty in Turkey at the end of four years of our rule”

The fourth leg is to establish a strong state with strong institutions free from the interventions of politics. “It’s not enough to establish democracy. It should be rooted. For this, the governments will not intervene into the affairs of independent institutions like the Central Bank and others.”

Kılıçdaroğlu also announced a “to-do list” for the first 100 days and 12 months of a CHP government.

Polling committee head dismissed in Germany over multiple vote attempt

A polling committee head living in Frankfurt has been caught while attempting to vote in the name of somebody else in Turkey’s upcoming June 7 general election.

The president of the number six ballot box Hasan Tüfek, who is also a religious official in the city, cast his own vote on May 14 and took photos of himself while voting.

Two days after voting, Tüfek registered a national identity number belonging to somebody else on the election system and then tried to vote in their name. However, polling observers noticed this multiple vote attempt and prevented Tüfek from casting the vote. At first, he denied the allegations and then claimed he was trying to vote for his wife. He also said he voted “out of boredom.”

Upon objections, his statement was taken and Turkey’s Supreme Election Board (YSK) was informed of the incident. A report was later sent to the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The YSK issued a ruling about the dismissal of Tüfek along with another polling clerk who claimed that he did not see the incident, assigning a new polling committee.

Meanwhile, a lawyer for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), A. Hikmet Akıllı, said it was usual for religious officials to be assigned as polling clerks. He added that the party was monitoring the situation.

According to the law, those found guilty of voting or attempting to vote in the name of someone else are sentenced to jail terms of three to five years.

The voting process for Turkey’s parliamentary election began in Germany on May 8 and is scheduled to end on May 31.

Germany – Anadolu Agency

Photo: AA

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu

Turkish foreign policy needs a new start: CHP

CHP Leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu defines the EU accession as CHP's top foreign policy priority. "Relations with the EU need a new start. Without waiting for the opening of new negotiation chapters, we need to take further steps in order to get our democratic standards stronger" says Kılıçdaroğlu.

Interview, Murat Yetkin

Turkish foreign policy needs a new start at once, especially after the historical deal between Iran and the world powers, says Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the social democratic main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Considering the deal a “positive” step for “peace and stability in the Middle East,” Kılıçdaroğlu said it has the potential to realign the existing political balances in the region, highlighting Iran’s role if it is successfully completed and implemented.

“Turkey must update its foreign policy according to the needs of the new balances,” Kılıçdaroğlu told Hürriyet Daily News in a telephone interview on April 3. “For the last few years, Turkish foreign policy has been in decline in parallel with the level of democracy in domestic politics. Imagine that, up until a few years ago, Turkey used to mediate between Iran and the world powers. Now unfortunately we are almost totally out of the picture. President Tayyip Erdoğan has already been pushed out of the game by the international powers. U.S. President Barack Obama had asked both Erdoğan and Israeli President Binyamin Netanyahu to come to terms during his visit to Israel over the phone but let it go when neither of them did so,” he said.

Claiming the current foreign policy is damaging the interests of Turkey and the Turkish people, Kılıçdaroğlu said Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu was, “not capable of conducting a comprehensive foreign policy,” and Erdoğan was, “too stubborn to change his path, which he thinks is unmistaken.”

“As we are getting away from the standards of the European Union, our democratic standards are getting lower,” Kılıçdaroğlu continued. “Terrorism is back, the government is bringing additional measures to run the country by undeclared martial law with the new Domestic Security Law and our democracy deteriorates as the gap between Turkey and Europe widens,” he said.

The CHP leader said Turkish foreign policy should go through a revision in three main fields, with new priorities which put national interests first and which attempt to resume friendly relations with Turkey’s neighbors:

1- Relations with the EU need a new start. Without waiting for the opening of new negotiation chapters, we need to take further steps in order to get our democratic standards stronger.

2- Relations with the U.S. need a new start. The U.S. is our important ally and we have to resume good relations while also protecting our national interests as two equal democracies.

3- Relations with our Middle Eastern neighbors, especially Egypt, Israel, Syria and Iraq, need a new start. Turkish foreign policy must be taken out of the Sunni-Shiite fault lines in the region. Iran’s role is likely to increase following the nuclear deal. Turkey has to have better relations and cooperation with Iran.

The Turkish opposition leader said Iran’s historical deal with the world powers provides Turkey with an opportunity to renew its position, but he also says he doubted whether the Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) government could take advantage of it.

Source

CHP European Union Representation storifies for you!

Follow us @CHPEU

Turkey’s Progressive Voice in Brussels

Download the full story (pdf)

“The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has lodged a statement of opposition to the 15 articles of the new homeland security bill, saying that the penalty given for brandishing a sling is higher than the penalty of gun possession.

The CHP put its objection to the 15 articles of the bill into a statement on the grounds that they conflict with the constitution. Possessing a gun in a demonstration will have a penalty of one year in prison, with a possibility for this penalty to be turned into a fine. However, a person possessing a sling in a demonstration will be penalized with a more than two-year prison term, according to the bill.

The CHP also objected to one of the articles in the bill which said “a peaceful demonstrator, who has half of their face covered – even as protection from the cold weather – will be charged with prison terms ranging from 30 months to four years.”

A total of 3,200 police chiefs will be forced to retire if the security bill is enforced, the CHP also underlined. The CHP slammed the bill for “increasing the ministry’s and governor’s authority and transferring the judicial organs’ authority to them while also being a crackdown on freedom.” The main opposition also criticized the bill for giving security forces the authority to arrest people on the grounds that “they are risking other people’s lives,” and said this article will allow police forces to arrest even innocent people during demonstrations.

‘Protection of people’

“The term ‘protection of people’ is not included in our laws and this makes the period of this ‘protection’ vague in the bill,” said the CHP.

“With this article, the police will be able to prevent people from entering any area under their protection. For instance, this protection will be used as an excuse to prevent a lawmaker from entering an area,” the CHP said. The CHP also criticized the article for giving prosecutors the authority to take “urgent decisions to expose a crime,” to their governors or local administrators. “This article will prevent the prosecution of the suspects who are close to the government and it will give local administrators and governors the powers that are given under emergency law,” said the CHP.

The main opposition also claimed that the Turkish Armed forces (TSK) will be politicized with the new bill. “The bill will politicize the Gendarmerie forces and the coast guard units. They will also lead to politicization of the TSK as well. This means a disaster for the country,” it said.”(1) Turan Yılmaz

2- Download : Homeland Security Act of Turkey, Counter­ statements of CHP, February 2015

3- Detailed analysis on the security bill, Human Rights Watch

Source (1)

Source (2)

Source (3)

The Turkish government’s plans to widen police powers are facing growing criticism at home and abroad. The government claims the draft law would merely give Turkish police the same powers as their counterparts in EU countries. The reality is that the new powers would put Turkish citizens at greater risk of state abuse.

All opposition parties, many bar associations, and human rights groups are united in a campaign against the proposed expansion of police powers in the new domestic security bill that is to come before Turkey’s parliament next week. The European Commission and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights have also raised concerns.

Human Rights Watch has multiple concerns about the bill. First, it would give the police new powers to use lethal force against demonstrators and to search and to detain people they suspect of posing a threat to public order, both without judicial oversight. Second, it would increase the criminal penalties for participating in violent or “propaganda” demonstrations, with the result that more protesters are likely to end up in pre-trial detention. Third it would grant new powers to provincial governors and deputy governors acting under government orders to direct security officials to make arrests, again bypassing the judiciary.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu disagrees with our concerns. “Show us just one article that violates EU standards; show just one clause that is against universal democratic standards,” he said on February 10, addressing his party group in Parliament. To justify the new powers, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has also argued that France, Germany, Britain and the Netherlands have similar laws.

So, do EU member states really have similar laws, and is it possible to make such a comparison between the elements in this bill and diverse examples from their jurisdictions? Human Rights Watch has learned from a diplomat of a major EU member state that in November Turkey’s Interior Ministry did indeed scrutinize that country’s police powers and cherry-pick elements from its laws to rebut criticism from the EU. Police in the UK do have powers to arrest people on their own initiative, for example, and German law criminalizes protesters covering their faces to conceal their identity, both elements of Turkey’s new draft law.

However, selective comparison with discrete police powers in individual EU member states is intentionally deceptive: it is meant to show you the tree, and hope you’ll ignore the forest. What Prime Minister Davutoğlu and Justice Minister Bozdağ won’t address is the existing state of public-order policing in Turkey. They fail to reflect on the repeated instances of violent, and unlawful, police dispersal of peaceful demonstrations and detention and prosecution of non-violent protesters. They are ignoring the sorry record of successive political authorities and courts in Turkey, which only rarely hold police accountable for entrenched abuse of duty, ill-treatment and torture.

In Turkey, given the existing context, there is a real risk, if not likelihood, that more authority to use firearms by police during protests will simply equal more citizen deaths. The record suggests that those deaths due to unjustified use of force will mostly go unpunished. Moreover, Turkey’s history suggests that giving the police the power to conduct mass arrests on their own initiative without the safeguard of judicial authorization could spell an increase in police abuse in detention and even routine arbitrary or incommunicado detention or enforced disappearances. It is a chilling prospect given the government’s track record of intolerance for dissent. It also risks taking Turkey back to the bad old days of routine unchecked police abuse.

Rather than arm themselves with such new powers – with elements carefully cherry-picked from EU member states’ jurisdictions, but without the safeguards – Justice Minister Bozdağ and Interior Minister Efkan Ala would do well to pool their efforts in addressing the concerns of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe when it comes to the exercise of police powers and the right to assembly in Turkey.

Since 2006, the European Court of Human Rights has issued about 45 rulings against Turkey (identified as the Ataman v. Turkey group of cases), finding violations of the right to assembly and impunity for torture and ill-treatment, and called on Turkey to take urgent steps to address a series of detailed concerns about policing and lack of accountability. The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers will meet in March to discuss Turkey’s progress is addressing these concerns.

Giving the police a swathe of new and unfettered powers is unlikely to persuade the Council of Europe that Turkey is serious about addressing the systemic failures identified in repeated European Court judgments.

Emma Sinclair-Webb is the Istanbul-based senior Turkey researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Source