Turkey: time for a clear signal

Member of Parliament Zuhal Demir is very concerned about the developments impacting human and minority rights in Turkey. The recent arrests of multiple members of parliament of the pro-Kurdish opposition party HDP is the latest low point. “It is time for our parliament to issue a clear signal,” Demir states. Therefore she urges the President of the Chamber of Representatives to invite HDP members of parliament that are in Belgium to the Chamber.

According to Zuhal Demir, “President Erdogan’s Turkey cannot be a candidate member state of the EU. Democratic values are actively being trampled by his regime. After all, democracy is more than the number of votes a president has under his name. Democracy is also about respecting human rights and minorities.” Demir has been forced to reiterate, time and time again, that it is precisely on this terrain that Turkey performs so abominably: “Since the coup attempt in July, over 35,000 people have already been arrested. Scores of these were fired in an attempt to ‘cleanse’ the state machinery of dissidents.”

Non-existent free of press

Zuhal Demir is also very concerned about the freedom of press. Turkey currently ranks in the 151st place on Reporters without Border’s World Press Freedom Index. That means the country performs worse than Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, which has climbed to the 124th place. Ten years ago, Turkey still only held the 98th place. On top of that, the Index’s latest update pre-dates the coup. “Evidence in the Turkish press for HDP party involvement in terrorism cannot be taken seriously at all,” Demir explains. “Freedom of press has been non-existent since Erdogan took power.”

“Erdogan is clearly abandoning all European aspirations. It is time for Belgium to take a clear stance when it comes to Turkish developments regarding democratic values,” Demir concludes.