European Parliament ‘strongly condemns repression on opposition’ in Turkey

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With 603 votes against two, the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have adopted a resolution titled "The repression of the opposition in Turkey, specifically the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP)".

Drafted by the Christian Democrats, Social Democrats, Liberals, Greens and Left groups, the resolution has "condemned the repression of opposition political parties, particularly the HDP, and urged the government to ensure that all parties can freely and fully exercise their legitimate activities in accordance with the basic principles of a pluralist and democratic system."

Accordingly, the MEPs have emphasized that the related action "continues to undermine the ability of the political opposition to exercise their rights and fulfil their democratic roles," adding that they are "deeply concerned by this serious backsliding on the freedom of the opposition parties to function, which reveals the dire human rights situation in Turkey and the continued erosion of democracy and the rule of law."

Closure case against HDP and repression

The resolution has also recalled that "around 4,000 HDP members and functionaries remain in prison, including a number of parliamentarians, three HDP MPs have been stripped of their parliamentary seats and parliamentary immunity and have subsequently been arrested."

Indicating that "not hampering the HDP's participation in Turkey's democratic institutions is a basic way to make Turkish society more inclusive and create a positive outlook leading to a peaceful settlement of the Kurdish issue," the European Parliament has reiterated that "banning the HDP would be a serious political mistake in the medium term and would represent an irreversible blow to pluralism and democratic principles, leaving millions of voters without representation."

Referring to the deadly armed attack on the HDP İzmir office, the resolution has also "strongly condemned" the incident, expressed its condolences to the relatives and friends of Deniz Poyraz, urging the authorities to investigate the case thoroughly and bring those responsible to justice."

Against this backdrop, the European Parliament has called on the authorities in Turkey "to refrain from fuelling incitement against the HDP and to take the necessary measures to protect the party's offices and officials, including MPs and elected local councillors and co-mayors."

The resolution has further condemned the "decision to strip HDP MPs Leyla Güven, Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu and Musa Farisoğulları of their parliamentary seats and immunity, and their subsequent arrests and welcomed the judgment of the Constitutional Court" on Gergerlioğlu.

Accordingly, the MEPs have urged "the authorities and lower courts to implement the decision of the Constitutional Court and urgently restore his parliamentary status and called for the immediate release of the other two HDP MPs and for all charges against them to be dropped."

Referring to the continued arrest of former HDP Co-Chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, the European Parliament has recalled the ECtHR ruling calling for the immediate release of Demirtaş and said that it is "appalled by the Turkish authorities' continuous disregard for and failure to apply the rulings of the ECtHR, including in other cases such as the one of Osman Kavala, for which the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe could trigger infringement proceedings against Turkey."

Pressure on the CHP

The resolution has also referred to the other opposition parties, specifically the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the İYİ Party.

The European Parliament has said that it is "deeply concerned about the gradually increasing pressure on the CHP and its leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, including the confiscation of party brochures by court order, the threats made publicly against him and physical attacks on him."

It has also condemned the request to lift the immunity of Kılıçdaroğlu on the basis of his political statements, including his prosecution for "insulting the President", for which he faces a sentence of up to 4 years.

Further in the resolution, the MEPs have also highlighted that "the generally hostile environment is affecting other opposition leaders such as the chair of the İYİ Party, Meral Akşener, who was recently verbally attacked in a visit to Rize by supporters of the ruling party."

Trustees, measures to paralyze municipalities

The European Parliament's resolution has also "condemned the decision made by the Turkish authorities to remove democratically elected mayors from office on the basis of questionable evidence and replace them with unelected trustees, which undermines local democracy."

It has "noted the political, legislative and administrative measures taken by the Turkish Government to paralyse municipalities run by the mayors of opposition parties in Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir; regretting the fact that the incumbent government is abusing the financial resources and administrative authority of the state to weaken or silence the opposition."

Concluding the resolution, the European Parliament has said that it "believes that, apart from improvements in foreign policy issues, progress on any positive agenda that could be offered to Turkey should also be dependent on improvements in the civil and human rights and rule of law situation in the country, including women's rights, such as those guaranteed by the Istanbul Convention, religious freedom, and the rights of ethnic minorities and LGBTI community." (KÖ/SD)