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Human rights in Turkey / 2. Sept. 2012

The SI, which currently brings together 161 political parties and organizations from all continents, also voiced its concern over imprisoned lawmakers as well as prolonged detentions of journalists, students and public servants in Turkey, indicating that the situation brings judicial independence into question.

“In Turkey, elected members of Parliament are being obstructed from performing their duties by arbitrary court decisions. This is contrary to the stipulations of the U.N. international covenant on civil and political rights; and the European Convention on Human Rights, bringing into question the independence of the judiciary which is a fundamental condition of democracy. The situation is a violation on human rights along with the prolonged detention of journalists, students and public servants among others in Turkey; it is a cause for concern,” the SI resolution said.

The issue of jailed deputies in Turkey was included in the Europe section of the resolution upon a proposal by Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). Turkey’s Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), meanwhile, proposed a paragraph to denounce the Uludere tragedy, where 34 civilian Kurdish villagers who were smuggling oil from Iraq were mistakenly killed in a botched air raid by Turkish jets last year. However, this proposal did not gain acceptance, including from the CHP. The SI congress also passed a resolution “For a common road to peace, sustainability and cooperation: the need to secure multilateralism,” to underline the necessity of greater cooperation in finding answers to common challenges.