Europe official concerned on jailed deputies

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

European official Schulz voices the issue of jailed MPs during his meetings. AFP photo

The European Parliament’s president said he raised the problem of Turkey’s jailed lawmakers during all meetings with high-ranking politicians yesterday.

“I urged all interlocutors to look very carefully at the conditions under which the MPs are being held in prison and under which their trials are taking place,” said Martin Schulz at a press conference in Ankara while also noting increasing complaints over media freedom in Turkey.

The EP president was on an official visit yesterday and met with President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek and the leaders of the three opposition parties in Turkey’s Parliament.

He praised efforts to draw up a new constitution but warned that it must be fully in line with EU norms. “It’s absolutely very important that the new constitution is compatible with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. This is not negotiable,” he said. Schulz also criticized Turkey’s decision not to communicate with the EU presidency once the Greek Cypriots take over the rotating post in July.

The European Parliament’s president said he raised the problem of Turkey’s jailed lawmakers during all meetings with high-ranking politicians yesterday.

“I urged all interlocutors to look very carefully at the conditions under which the MPs are being held in prison and under which their trials are taking place,” said Martin Schulz at a press conference in Ankara while also noting increasing complaints over media freedom in Turkey.

The EP president was on an official visit yesterday and met with President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek and the leaders of the three opposition parties in Turkey’s Parliament.

He praised efforts to draw up a new constitution but warned that it must be fully in line with EU norms. “It’s absolutely very important that the new constitution is compatible with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. This is not negotiable,” he said.

Schulz also criticized Turkey’s decision not to communicate with the EU presidency once the Greek Cypriots take over the rotating post in July. “We are all advised to take account of the reality that Cyprus is today a member of the European Union. I criticize [Turkey’s decision]. This is not possible but I take it as a reality,” he said.

Schulz expressed support for Turkey’s full membership but acknowledged that the country’s prospects are marred by “a lot of problems” both in bilateral ties and within the EU itself.

Efforts to facilitate visas for Turkish citizens traveling to the EU also dominated the talks, he said.

Parliamentary dialogue
Çiçek and Schulz inaugurated a joint project regarding Turkey-EU parliamentary exchange and dialogue in a bid to boost the Turkish Parliament’s role in the EU accession process. As part of the project, six symposiums, three dialogue forums, two international summer camps and exchange visits will be organized.

Çiçek expressed hope that the initiative would help curb rising racism and Islamophobia in Europe, which he described as “Europe’s [biggest] problems.”

Schulz, however, also expressed doubt about the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) commitment to Turkey’s EU membership bid and sees the imprisonment of eight opposition lawmakers as “unacceptable,” opposition sources said after talks with the visiting official.

“The situation of the jailed deputies is unacceptable and cannot be justified in any way. Such things cannot happen in democratic states based on the rule of law,” Schulz told Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, according to CHP deputy chair Faruk Loğoğlu.

In further remarks at the meeting, Schulz said, “If it were another country, the EU would have cut off ties” with Turkey over the continued imprisonment of the lawmakers, a CHP member told the Hürriyet Daily News on the condition of anonymity. “Whoever we meet in Turkey says that democracy is under threat. This is worrisome,” Schulz was quoted as saying.

Schulz reportedly said the European Parliament had wondered before whether the AKP’s reforms were merely “tactical” and were now convinced that “the EU is of no importance” to them, the source said.
Schulz invited Kılıçdaroğlu to the European Parliament, and the CHP leader is expected to make the visit in July, the source added.

Schulz was said to have voiced similar misgivings at his meeting with Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair Gültan Kışanak. “There is a difference between Erdoğan’s previous and present attitudes. We had believed he would carry out fundamental reforms, but he is making tactical reforms. We are disappointed,” BDP sources quoted Schulz as saying.

Çiçek voiced pessimism about the deadlock over the jailed lawmakers after the AKP rejected a bid for a legislative amendment to secure their release. “If the Constitution and laws do not permit a further solution, there is nothing to do,” he said.