WRITTEN QUESTION E-0519/02

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(25 February 2002)

Subject: Persistent systematic measures to combat the use of the Kurdish language and the election of Kurdish members of parliament in Turkey

1. Is the Commission aware that, although at the end of 2001 the Republic of Turkey amended its Constitution so as to give the impression that the public use of the Kurdish language, which is spoken by the vast majority of the population in the south-east, is now permitted,

the provision of education in that language is being systematically avoided, and that the tens of thousands of students who applied for an optional language course, as well as their families, now face the possibility of being isolated or incarcerated as a punishment for doing so?

2. Is the Commission aware, furthermore, that the Democratic People's Party (HADEP), which is strong in the south-east, which administers towns and villages there and which according to opinion polls can now be expected to exceed the national electoral threshold of 10 %, is being threatened with a ban in order to prevent proper Kurdish representation in the Turkish Parliament becoming a reality at long last?

3. Does the Commission share my fear that, by systematically combating the use of the Kurdish language in administration, education and the media, and by keeping out of the national Parliament members who advocate equal rights for the large Kurdish-speaking majority, the Turkish State is continuing to give the impression that, while it is keen to maintain control over the territory in the south-east, it is completely uninterested in the living conditions, welfare and freedoms of the vast majority of the millions of people who live there, thereby encouraging people to emigrate from the region and causing many of them to seek a solution to their problem through illegal immigration into EU Member States?

4. Does the Commission see any indication that the forces which are currently dominant in Turkey might in the near future be prepared to introduce equal rights, comparable to those which now exist in other multilingual states such as Spain, Belgium and, thanks to the intervention of the EU, since recently in Macedonia, so that there will no longer be any reason for the Kurdish population to feel discriminated against and to leave Turkey?

5. Will the Commission suspend all forms of pre-accession aid and other forms of financial aid to Turkey with the exception of emergency aid in the event of natural disasters and refrain from making any preparations for Turkey's accession to the European Union until such time as the Kurds enjoy linguistic and cultural equality with the Turks and for so long as democracy continues to be seriously restricted by excluding from membership of Parliament non-violent democratic parties which have strong support among the electorate?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(12 April 2002)

The Commission is aware of the situation in the South-East as well as of the language issue and the reaction of the Turkish government to the petitions of the students.

Like the Parliament, the Commission is monitoring closely the developments related to the judicial proceedings against the Halkin Demokrasi Partisi (HADEP) party in the Constitutional Court. On 1 March 2002, HADEP presented its defence before the Constitutional Court. Shortly after, the public prosecutor asked the Court to dismiss the proceedings against HADEP on the basis that there is not enough evidence that HADEP has an organic link with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The trial is continuing behind closed doors and a verdict may be delivered shortly.

As regards the situation in the South-East, the state of emergency was extended again in March 2002 in the four provinces of Diyarbakir, Hakkari, Sirnak and Tunceli. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has strongly recommended the Turkish government to consider lifting the state of emergency in all provinces of the country(1). An East and South-East Action Plan initiated by the National Security Council, but still not made public, has been enacted with the approval of the Prime Minister. The plan reportedly includes measures related to public administration, economy, health and education. The Commission has repeatedly requested information about this plan to the Turkish authorities. The Union has adopted a project (EUR 47 million) for the South-East to further stimulate its economic development in view of providing employment for the persons in these regions.

The Commission is of the opinion that the Turkish government should ensure cultural diversity and guarantee cultural rights for all citizens irrespective of their origin. Any legal provisions preventing the enjoyment of these rights should be abolished including in the field of education. This is a medium-term priority identified in the Accession Partnership with Turkey(2).

The Commission considers that financial co-operation can help promote the necessary changes in Turkey, and to encourage Turkey to comply with the Copenhagen criteria. In this respect, special attention is paid to projects related to the fulfilment of the Copenhagen political criteria in the field of human rights. Turkey is a focus country under the 2002-2004 programme of the European initiative for Human Rights and Democracy.

(1) UN Doc. E/CN.4/2002/74/Add. 1, 18 December 2001.

(2) OJ L 85, 24.3.2001.