The EU has urged Turkey to adopt a new constitution as soon as possible to solve the country’s problems, while criticizing serious shortcomings on fundamental human rights.
The final version of the EU’s 2012 progress report on Turkey was released on Wednesday, highlighting Turkey’s need for a new constitution to solve serious problems, including the Kurdish issue, while at the same time blasting Turkey over a lack of fundamental freedoms and rights, particularly in the areas of freedom of expression and freedom of the press.The annual report welcomed the positive steps that have been taken in terms of participatory work on a new Constitution, the adoption of the law on the ombudsman institution and the improvements in the Turkish criminal justice system introduced through the 3rd judicial reform package, while expressing that there was a recurrent lack of consultation in the legislative process.
This year, seven paragraphs were allocated to dealing with the constitution, as compared with four paragraphs last year. Another large section is devoted to the judiciary and to civilian-military relations.
On coup cases like Ergenekon and Sledgehammer, the report states that these cases offer a “chance” for Turkish democracy, but also warns that the cases are being overshadowed by shortcomings in due process. The reports states, “Offering a chance to strengthen confidence in the proper functioning of Turkey’s democratic institutions and the rule of law, investigations into alleged coup plans have been overshadowed by real concerns about their wide scope and the shortcomings in judicial proceedings.” The EU is also implicitly warning the judiciary to apply internationally recognized standards to these cases.
Praising progress in the area of the judiciary, the report says legal reforms have nevertheless failed to address core shortcomings which are the main reasons for continuing condemnations of Turkey by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). “The incidence and length of pretrial detention continues to be a serious concern. Further steps are needed on the independence, impartiality and efficiency of the judiciary, including the criminal justice system and the large backlog of pending serious criminal cases,” said the report.
The EU Commission report also puts forth growing concerns regarding Turkey’s lack of significant progress towards fully meeting the political criteria.
“The situation regarding the respect for fundamental rights continues to be the source of serious preoccupation. This stems, in particular, from the wide application of the legal framework on terrorism and organized crime, which leads to recurring infringements of the right to liberty and security, of the right to a fair trial and of the freedom of expression, assembly and association,” stated the report.
Meanwhile, Stefan Fule, European Union’s chief officer for enlargement, described Turkey, when he informed, in Brussels on Wednesday, on the progress reports of candidate countries to the EU, as a key country for the EU, and said membership talks serves the interests of both the EU and Turkey. But Fule also criticized Turkey, at the press conference, noting that there is growing concern that fundamental rights are not being properly respected in Turkey.
In its 15th progress report since 1998, the EU asked Turkey to increase its efforts on human rights and the protection of minorities and in basic freedoms, in particular freedom of expression, freedom of association and assembly and freedom of religion.
Concerning the fight against discrimination, the report said further efforts were required regarding the issue. “Comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation is lacking and substantial efforts by the government are still needed to effectively protect the vulnerable population,” said the report.
The report said that the Kurdish issue is still a key challenge for Turkey’s democracy, stating the democratic opening has come to a virtual halt. “The ongoing work on a new constitution provides an important opportunity in this respect,” it highlighted, adding that over the past months Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist attacks have increased sharply. As in previous years, Brussels strongly condemned PKK attacks.
“In incidents such as the Uludere killings of civilians, calls on the authorities for effective and swift investigation and a transparent public inquiry have not been met. The truth about extra-judicial killings and torture in the Southeast in the 1980s and 1990s has yet to be established in line with the due process of law. The statute of limitations deadline will soon bring an end to judicial investigations on past crimes, without result. Landmines and the village guard system are still causes for concern,” said the report.
Meanwhile, the report made a positive evaluation of Turkey’s progress on cultural rights.
The report welcomed the introduction of parliamentary oversight of the defense budget as a positive development, while stating that it remains limited in scope.
Underlining that the General Staff have generally refrained from exerting direct or indirect pressure on political issues, the report stated that several symbolic steps have been taken toward further democratization of civil-military relations. “Further reforms, particularly of the military justice system, and civilian oversight of the gendarmerie are needed,” the report added.
The report reserved a significant place for the Cyprus problem, criticizing Turkey’s stance on the Greek Cypriot term presidency of the European Council. “The European Council expressed serious concerns with regard to Turkish statements and threats and called for full respect of the role of the presidency of the Council, which is a fundamental institutional feature of the EU provided for in the treaty,” it said. The EU strongly sides with the Greek Cypriot administration in the current oil exploration dispute in the Mediterranean.
The report criticized the limited progress in the area of justice, freedom and security, stating that Turkey is successfully providing humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees but that its asylum system is far from EU standards. “Turkey needs to increase its capacity to prevent irregular migration. Reforms are needed in the area of fighting against terrorism and organized crime.”
Regarding economic progress, the report stated that the Turkish economy has continued its strong growth, thus allowing it to reap the rewards of the stability and growth-oriented policies implemented during most of the previous decade.
“As regards the economic criteria, Turkey is a functioning market economy. It should be able to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the union in the medium term, provided that it accelerates the implementation of its comprehensive structural reform program,” said the report.
The report was prepared by the EU as an assessment of 12 monthly progress reports evaluating a candidate country’s progress on its path to EU accession and reporting the findings to Brussels.
(Today’s Zaman)
