Green concerns on Turkey
Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, held talks with EU officials in Brussels today.
Monica Frassoni, Co-Chair of the European Green Party, has taken this visit as an opportunity to highlight Green concerns about the democratic stability, or lack of it, in Turkey; the country’s role in the migrant crisis; and its crackdown on the opposition and press freedom ahead of local elections.
“We are increasingly alarmed when hearing of Erdogan’s tactics that are being used to mute his critics. Examples include the possible closure or displacement of polling stations to make voting difficult, the arrest of opposition activists from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), and the detention of the former Green party leader, Huseyin Gungor.
“Furthermore, we are appalled by the numerous reports of violence and torture at the hand of Turkey’s security forces, and of vicious acts involving the army and terror groups. All this when an agreement to settle the decade-long conflict in Kurdistan seemed so near only a few months ago.
“Turkey is a candidate country to join the European Union (EU), so Europe’s institutions and representatives cannot afford to remain silent in light of these facts.
“On the one hand we must ensure positive and effective assistance to Turkey, in cooperation with its authorities and civil society, due to the massive influx of Syrian refugees amounting to some two million. Nonetheless, we cannot condone the Turkish government’s ambiguous attitude towards DAESH, and its continued attacks on Kurdish positions in Syria.”
http://europeangreens.eu/news/green-concerns-turkey
Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, held talks with EU officials in Brussels today.
Monica Frassoni, Co-Chair of the European Green Party, has taken this visit as an opportunity to highlight Green concerns about the democratic stability, or lack of it, in Turkey; the country’s role in the migrant crisis; and its crackdown on the opposition and press freedom ahead of local elections.
“We are increasingly alarmed when hearing of Erdogan’s tactics that are being used to mute his critics. Examples include the possible closure or displacement of polling stations to make voting difficult, the arrest of opposition activists from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), and the detention of the former Green party leader, Huseyin Gungor.
“Furthermore, we are appalled by the numerous reports of violence and torture at the hand of Turkey’s security forces, and of vicious acts involving the army and terror groups. All this when an agreement to settle the decade-long conflict in Kurdistan seemed so near only a few months ago.
“Turkey is a candidate country to join the European Union (EU), so Europe’s institutions and representatives cannot afford to remain silent in light of these facts.
“On the one hand we must ensure positive and effective assistance to Turkey, in cooperation with its authorities and civil society, due to the massive influx of Syrian refugees amounting to some two million. Nonetheless, we cannot condone the Turkish government’s ambiguous attitude towards DAESH, and its continued attacks on Kurdish positions in Syria.”
http://europeangreens.eu/news/green-concerns-turkey