B4-0769, 0797, 0820 and 0828/96

Resolution on human rights and the situation in Turkey

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the human rights clause included in the proposal for a Council Regulation regarding the implementation of a special financial cooperation measure for Turkey (COM(95)0389 - C4-0391/95) ((OJ C 271, 17.10.1995, p. 12.)),

- having regard to the Barcelona Declaration of which Turkey is a signatory,

A. anxious to achieve good relations with Turkey, but recalling its numerous previous resolutions on human rights and statements made by the Turkish authorities prior to the approval of the Customs Union, promising improvements,

B. deeply concerned at the recent military operations undertaken by the Turkish armed forces in Eastern Turkey and the refusal to attempt to achieve a peaceful settlement despite the declaration of a ceasefire by the PKK on 15 December 1995,

C. whereas Kurdish prisoners in many Turkish prisons have been on hunger strike in protest against repressive measures introduced by Mr Mehmet Agar, formerly Chief of Security and subsequently Minister of Justice,

D. concerned by reports that medical treatment is being obstructed and that the health of various prisoners participating in the prison hunger strike is now in grave danger,

E. deeply concerned by reports of ill-treatment against prisoners which, inter alia, has resulted in four deaths in January 1996 in Istanbul's prison,

F. deeply disturbed by the fact that the former Members of Parliament of Kurdish origin, Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Selim Sadak and Orhan Dogan have still not been released from prison, and have joined the hunger strike by other political prisoners,

G. unable to accept that the prosecutions of the writer Yasar Kamal and the sociologist Ismail Besikci and the treatment of political prisoners in general are compatible with internationally accepted standards of human rights,

H. condemning the bans on assembly and demonstration, the violence, the arrests and baton charges by the police during the HABITAT II conference,

I. concerned that the president of the Diyarbakir medical association and committed human rights activist, Seyfettin Kizilkan, has been sentenced to over three years' imprisonment by a state security court, although observers assume that the charges were fabricated,

J. taking fully into account the uncertainty prevailing on the Turkish political scene following the fall of the present Government and the resignation of the Prime Minister, Mr Mesut Yilmaz,

1. Appeals to the incoming government to commit itself to recognise and uphold human rights in Turkey, in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights of which Turkey is a signatory, and to undertake further and substantial legislative reforms required to prevent their infringement;

2. Requests the new government to declare a general amnesty designed to secure the release of prisoners convicted of offences under laws in conflict with the principles of free speech and human rights and to terminate court actions against those still on trial, and in particular renews its call for the immediate release of Mrs Leyla Zana and the three other members of the DEP;

3. Calls on the Turkish Government to end its military operations in the south- east of the country and to open negotiations with all Kurdish organizations in order to overcome the deadlock and move towards a peaceful political settlement of the problem;

4. Asks the Turkish authorities to recognise the rights of all Kurds within Turkey and to facilitate the return of all displaced Kurds to their homes;

5. Presses the Council to put the Kurdish issue in Turkey on the agenda of the OSCE and to seek other ways to promote initiatives designed to assist in resolving the problems of human rights and the Kurds in Turkey;

6. Calls on the new government to take firm steps to end the practice of torture and to make provision for the International Red Cross to visit prisons and political prisoners;

7. Considers that such disregard of obligations with regard to both international law and human rights instruments, is seriously inconsistent with the spirit of the EU/Turkey Customs Union, and therefore calls on the Council and the Commission to urge the Turkish Authorities to take steps to ensure that ill treatment of prisoners and the obstruction of medical treatment stops;

8. Calls on the Commission to meet its commitments as regards monitoring the human rights situation in Turkey and asks it to forward the second interim report on human rights in Turkey to Parliament as soon as possible;

9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, the Government of Turkey, and to all Member State governments.