Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris
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REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-RIVISTA<br />
STAMPA.DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASIN Ö~ET(<br />
Turkish Daily News<br />
ANKARA- The former minister for<br />
human rights called a press conference in<br />
Parliament on Friday to make public a<br />
report prepared by a Prime Ministry advisory<br />
committee at the beginning of this<br />
year but kept secr<strong>et</strong> due to its claims of.<br />
systematic torture in Turkey.<br />
Azim<strong>et</strong> Köylüoglu said unfortùnately<br />
the report,prepared by the Human Rights .<br />
Advisory Committee, had not been<br />
released and "since I wanted the<br />
. Parliament and the public to know about<br />
it, I ma<strong>de</strong> it public."<br />
The former minister said the document<br />
Was compl<strong>et</strong>ed in January andhe had pre~<br />
sented it to Prime Minister Çiller and her<br />
former <strong>de</strong>puty, Murat Karayalçm, for it to<br />
be ma<strong>de</strong> pubIiç, .<br />
Köylüoglu was the minster responsible<br />
for human rights in the Çiller-Karayalçm<br />
Cabin<strong>et</strong>, but lost his post in the reshuffle<br />
of March 23 this year. During his time in..<br />
this post, Köylüoglu refused again and<br />
again to release the report on torture. The<br />
advisory committee which prepared ~he<br />
report, entitled .<br />
"Individual security and protection<br />
against torture and inhuman treatment,"<br />
comprised 23 members, including schol-.<br />
ars and experts in the field ..<br />
The report states: "Even some state<br />
.official~, som<strong>et</strong>imes .acceptth;u therds<br />
'~(:eA~t::~~~:t~~;l~~~~~=~:.<br />
the customuiHon'aècord with:,the<br />
are punished.<br />
This contradicts the current situation.<br />
Even the 51 st Cabin<strong>et</strong> of Turkey has'<br />
ma<strong>de</strong> some small steps toward stopping<br />
torture. Some sections of the Interior<br />
Ministry have been regularly applying<br />
torture."<br />
The Human RightsAdvisory<br />
Committee based its findings on docu~<br />
ments produced by the United Nations<br />
and international nongovernmental organizations<br />
concerning human rights viola-<br />
. tions in Turkey;<br />
The committee noted in its report that<br />
the fact-finding work in the report was<br />
based on the reports of other'organiza •..<br />
lions' "bècause ourcömmittëê~'hàS:. nor<br />
bëen ällowed to makè its"own:obseNa-' ..<br />
tions in the field."<br />
According to the report, toprevent tor- .<br />
ture, legislative, executive and judicial<br />
changes should be ma<strong>de</strong> in Turkey. Also,<br />
the report proposes the adoption in<br />
Turkey of international principles of<br />
. humanitarian legislation and internalleg- .<br />
islative changes. . • .<br />
It says tortu.re should be <strong>de</strong>fined "a<br />
crime against humanity" in the Penal<br />
. Co<strong>de</strong> and torturers should be heavily puri- .<br />
ished so they do not encourage such<br />
practices in the future. According to the<br />
. report, torture is wi<strong>de</strong>ly used at police stations,<br />
so periods of <strong>de</strong>tention should be<br />
.reduced and use of blindfolds should be<br />
banned:<br />
Thé repOrt al'so says torture .victims<br />
should be taken care of by the. govern-<br />
. ment and. free medical treatment .should<br />
be provi<strong>de</strong>d for their rehabilitation.<br />
Moreover, security personnel should be<br />
educated in human rights, according to<br />
the report.<br />
Within the framework of so-called<br />
"<strong>de</strong>mocratization" in Turkey, the coalition<br />
. government promised to establish a<br />
human rights ministry, but unfortunately,<br />
this has not come about. .<br />
Instead, One of the slate ministries has<br />
been appointed to <strong>de</strong>al with the human<br />
rights question in Turkey and the prime<br />
minister appointed 23 specialists and<br />
. schol.~ to .fopna ~,~~ rights. ad~isory;.<br />
cormmttee Just before Chefirst me<strong>et</strong>ing on<br />
European Union last fall.<br />
The committee . finally came . out with<br />
three reports: one on torture: one on the<br />
emergency rule region; and one on human<br />
rights education in Turkey. Unfortunately<br />
none of these reports had been ma<strong>de</strong> public,<br />
until Friday, when former minister<br />
Köylüoglu releasedthè report on torture ..<br />
Speaking at the press conference,<br />
Köylüoglu said that to say torture has not<br />
been taking place in Turkey was the worst<br />
thing that one could do to the country .<br />
. He also <strong>de</strong>man<strong>de</strong>d that the military<br />
comman<strong>de</strong>r responsible for the Sept. 12,<br />
1980coup should be put on trial and pun-<br />
.ished:According -to-'Turkey's 1982<br />
Constitution, drawn up by the military,<br />
the generals 'involved ip the Sept.' 12 coup<br />
cannot. be charged for activities carried<br />
out by them during their time in power.<br />
. . .'<br />
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