MEPs urge EU-leaders for serious violations in Turkey
by Roni Alasor
EU-Parliament-Brussels, 25 March 2018 - Middle East Diplomatic (MED - Ahead of the EU-Turkey summit to be held in Bulgaria, members of the EU Parliament from all political groups urge the EU leaders to bring the serious human rights violations in the centre of EU-Turkey relations. Meanwhile Kurds criticize EU for financing Erdogan with new 3 billion Euros to change the demography in the Kurdish Afrin region which NATO member Turkish army occupied with active support of Islamic terror gangs Al-Qaida-Al-Nusra-ISIS elements.
Seventy-five members of the European Parliament from all political groups – EPP, S&D, ALDE, Greens EFA, EFDD, ECR, GUE-NGL as well as none-attached members, signed an open call addressed to the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk, to urge for respect of human rights and rule of law in Turkey. The letter also aims to press Turkish President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan to release thousands of politicians, lawyers, journalists, teachers and activist unjustly jailed in Turkey. The initiative is led by Rebecca Harms, spokeswoman for foreign affairs of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament.
The parliamentarians express their grave concern regarding the serious deterioration of human rights in Turkey, including the arrest of elected politicians, journalists, lawyers and human rights activists, the closing down of media and publishing houses.
“Turkey is the country with the highest number of journalists in detention anywhere in the world... We have been deeply shocked by the recent collapse of the independence and effectiveness of Turkey’s judiciary”, says as well the letter.
The MEPs underline that “closer relations between the European Union and Turkey can only be conditioned on the lifting of the state of emergency, returning to rule of law, releasing detained journalists, human rights defenders and elected politicians, and ensuring accountability for torture and ill-treatment committed in police custody”.
The parliamentarians expect that their concerns will be taken into consideration during the EU-Turkey leaders’ meeting in Varna, Bulgaria on 26 March 2018, which was convened under a lot of pressure by Bulgarian PM Boyko Borissov who believes “it is a last chance to maintain EU-Turkey dialogue”.
Below the names of the MEPs who signed the letter:
Ana Gomes (S&D) / Ana Miranda (Greens-EFA) / Anna Maria Corazza Bildt (EPP) / Bart Staes (Greens/EFA) / Beatriz Becerra Basterrechea (ALDE) / Benedek Jávor (Greens/EFA) / Bernd Lucke (ECR) / Birgit Sippel (S&D) / Barbara Lochbihler (Greens EFA) / Bodil Valero (Greens/EFA) / Boris Zala (S&D) / Brando Benifei (S&D) / Bronis Ropé (Greens/EFA) / Charles Goerens (ALDE) / Claude Turmes (Greens/EFA) / Costas Mavrides (S&D) / Demetris Papadakis (S&D) / Eleonora Evi (EFDD) / Elly Schlein (S&D) / Eva Joly (Greens/EFA) / Fabio Massimo CASTALDO (EFDD) / Georgi Pirinski (S&D) / Georgios Epitideios (Non-attached Member) / Helga Stevens (ECR) / Helga Trüpel (Greens EFA) / Hilde Vautmans (ALDE) / Isabella Adinolfi (EFDD) / Jaromir Stetina (EPP) / Javi López (S&D Group) / JiÅ™í Pospíšil (EPP) / Joachim Starbatty (ECR) / John Howarth (S&D) / Jordi SOLÉ (Greens/EFA) / José Inácio Faria (EPP) / Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D) / Jude Kirton-Darling (S&D) / Julie WARD (S&D) / Judith Sargentini (Greens/EFA) / Keith Taylor (Greens/EFA) / Klaus Buchner (Greens/EFA) / Liadh Ní Riada (GUE-NGL) / Luke Ming Flanagan (GUE-NGL) / Lynn Boylan (GUE-NGL)Marco Valli (EFDD) / Margrete Auken (Greens/EFA) / Maria Arena (S&D) / Marie-Christine Vergiat (GUE-NGL) / Marietje Schaake (ALDE) / Mark Demesmaeker (ECR) / Martina Anderson (GUE-NGL) / Matt Carthy (GUE-NGL) / Merja Kyllönen (GUE/NGL) / Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (S&D) / Michal Boni (EPP) / Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ (EPP) / Michel Reimon (Greens/EFA) / Michèle Rivasi (Greens/EFA) / Monica Macovei (ECR) / Nikos Androulakis (S&D) / Nadja Hirsch (ALDE) / Pascal Durand (Greens/EFA) / Patricia Lalonde (ALDE) / Pavel Svoboda (EPP) / Peter Kouroumbashev (S&D) / Piernicola Pedicini (EFDD) / Rebecca HARMS (Greens/EFA) / Renate Weber (ALDE) / Richard Sulík (ECR) / Rina Ronja Kari (GUE-NGL) / Sirpa Pietikäinen (EPP) / Soraya Post (S&D) / Stefano Maullu (EPP) / Tanja FAJON (S&D) / Takis Hadjigeorgiou (GUE-NGL) / Terry Reintke (Greens/EFA) / Theresa Griffin (S&D).