Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 28 Mar 1995

Vol. 451 No. 2

Adjournment Debate. - Treatment of Kurds in Turkey.

Mr. E. Byrne

For decades the Kurdish people have been caught between two unrelenting forces — the Turks and the Iraqis. The Iraqi persecution of the Kurds is familiar and has been extensively detailed in the media. There can be little doubt that the Iraqi regime has pursued an active policy of genocide, including the use in the past of poison gas against unarmed villagers. Less attention, however, has been paid to Turkish human rights violations against the Kurds. We all remember television pictures of the Kurds being hounded by Saddam Hussein and arriving at Turkish borders only to be kept at bay by the Turkish guards. Turkey afforded them no sanctuary, Kurdish enclaves in southeast Turkey have been attacked on an ongoing basis under the guise of combating the PKK, and human rights violations are reported there almost on a daily basis.

Neither I nor my party hold any brief for the PKK because we believe it is a terrorist organisation which has killed countless civilians since its terrorist campaign began. We all know, however, that terror should not be used to counter terror.

It appears that the Turkish authorities have decided to tar all Kurds with the same brush. Their methods have included extra-judicial executions, disappearances, torture and detention without trial. They have now decided to carry their campaign into northern Iraq in a blatant violation of international law and all accepted international practice. With the exception of the European Union, the international reaction has been the silence of appeasement.

The only time the Kurds received recognition and protection from the international community was when they were useful pawns in the fight against Saddam Hussein. It is their status as a buffer between Iraq and the west which caused the so called safe havens, where the Kurdish people are now living, to be established in northern Iraq. The term "safe haven", however, must be one of the great misnomers of the late 20th century because on 20 March 35,000 Turkish troops were able to enter that area with seeming impunity, bombing Kurdish camps and causing, according to informed estimates, up to 200 casualties including an unknown number of civilians.

When challenged on the invasion, the standard Turkish line is that the PKK must be flushed out of their northern Iraq boltholes. Yet the Turkish actions scarcely comply with the "hot pursuit" concept generally sanctioned by international law. In particular, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees has expressed concern that Kurdish refugees may have been forcibly rounded up and transported back to Turkey.

I welcome the fact that Alain Juppé, on behalf of the European Union Council of Ministers, condemned Turkey's actions. I also welcome the strong representations made to the Turkish authorities by the European Union Troika of Foreign Ministers. The EU reaction, however, is in marked contrast to the US reaction which has been mute, to say the least. Last week, President Clinton expressed "an understanding of Turkey's need to act decisively". It is apparent that United States' concern for the Kurds depends on whether they are being persecuted by Saddam Hussein or by a NATO ally.

The Turkish invasion, however, is just one sympton of a continuing problem. It is quite clearly a continuation by other means of the ongoing persecution of the Kurds which is taking place in southeast Turkey. Those violations have escalated since the imposition of emergency legislation in ten south-eastern provinces of Turkey. Both the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the UN Committee Against Torture have published reports to the effect that torture is widespread and systematic in Turkey.

Given the close links between Turkey and the European Union, all EU member states have a special obligation to ensure that international human rights standards are observed in Turkey. As we all know, Turkey is eager to enter into a customs union with the European Union and its application in this regard comes up for renewed consideration by the European Parliament next September. The EU is thus in a position to exercise a certain degree of leverage on the Turkish treatment of the Kurdish minority. Indeed, it has been made abundantly clear by both the European Parliament and Alain Juppé that any agreement in this regard must depend on human rights progress within Turkey.

An EU delegation of human rights monitors, with a mandate to investigate allegations of abuse in south-eastern Turkey, would focus international attention on the plight of the Kurds and would further strengthen the European Union's stance in pressing for human rights improvements. As one of the few members of the EU not allied with Turkey through NATO, Ireland is well placed to press for the despatch of such a delegation. I hope the Minister will give this proposition favourable and sympathetic consideration.

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs (Ms Burton)

I fully share the concerns expressed by the Deputy about the continued reports of human rights violations in south east Turkey. The Government takes a close and continuing interest in the human rights situation in that country and avails of all appropriate opportunities in bilateral contacts with the Turkish Government to pursue these issues. It is also very concerned about the escalation of the situation following the intervention of Turkish forces in northern Iraq in recent days.

Our aim and that of our partners in the European Union is to encourage further progress in the process of democratisation and the protection of human rights in Turkey. In some respects, the general situation in Turkey has improved over the past decade or so. The restoration of a democratically elected government was most welcome and has been followed by some positive steps in relation to the protection of human rights. Reform of the legislation inherited from the period of the military government remains incomplete, however, and this continues to give rise to serious problems, particularly in relation to the situation in south east Turkey.

We recognise that the situation in that region has been seriously complicated by a sustained terrorist campaign and that a difficult and volatile situation now exists there.

We condemn all acts of terrorism unreservedly and we are fully conscious of the problems that such acts pose for the Turkish authorities. We have nevertheless made it clear that the fight against terrorism must be conducted within the law and with full respect for human rights. The response of the Turkish security forces to the terrorist campaign has given rise to reports of serious abuses of human rights and we have impressed on the Turkish authorities the need to address these allegations. We have also joined with our partners in the European Union in expressing concern about the lifting of the parliamentary immunity and subsequent conviction of members of the Kurdish Democratic Party.

We believe, moreover, that the situation in south east Turkey should not be approached purely as a security problem. To be sustainable, a solution will need to attract the confidence of the broad mass of people in that region. We have called, therefore, for a political settlement which, while respecting Turkey's sovereignty and territorial integrity, would allow for appropriate expression of the Kurdish cultural identity.

I share the view that we need to maintain the pressure on the Turkish authorities to withdraw from northern Iraq and to respect the commitments they have entered into on human rights. These points were raised directly with the Turkish Government on a recent visit to Ankara by the French, German and Spanish Foreign Ministers, who constitute the current European Union Troika. I also agree that a visit of an international human rights monitor mission to Turkey would be desirable. At this stage, however, the most appropriate channel for pursuing this is through appropriate international organisations which have a recognised role in the monitoring and protection of human rights and of which Turkey is a member. To this end, Ireland has joined with its European Union partners in calling on Turkey to grant access to an OSCE human rights mission. Turkey has, however, declined to agree to this. The question of what further steps might be pursued within the OSCE framework will be pursued, in consultation with our EU partners and other like-minded OSCE countries.

Our approach will continue to be guided by our assessment of what is most likely to contribute to progress in the reform process and protection of human rights in Turkey. The European Union, in accordance with its Treaty commitment to promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, has made it clear that the observance of a state of law and basic liberties underlie the development of its relations with Turkey. The proposed customs union with Turkey is intended to improve the framework for economic progress and help thereby to foster a more favourable climate for acceleration of the reform process. By integrating Turkey more closely into European structures, Turkey's European orientation should be strengthened and the European Union's capacity to exercise a positive influence on developments in Turkey enhanced. Closer relations with the European Union should reinforce the position of those elements in Turkey which are striving for the application of European standards in relation to human rights in that country. However, while we are willing to assist the democratisation process in Turkey in any way possible, there is a corresponding onus on the Turkish authorities to respond to this opening on the part of the European Union by accelerating the pace of internal reform.

We hope that the constitutional review initiative recently announced by the Turkish Prime Minister will contribute to the process of reform. We understand that the review will concentrate on provisions of the Turkish Constitution which permit restrictions on freedom of political expression and on which the Kurdish parliamentarians were convicted, and which affect the liability to prosecution of State officials. These changes if adopted would represent an important step forward in the exercise of public freedoms and could facilitate public debate on the Kurdish issue. We wish to see the review process completed and effective reforms implemented in these areas with all possible speed.

The Government is deeply preoccupied by the implications of the intervention of the Turkish forces in north Iraq in an area designated by the international community as a protected zone for civilians and refugees. We have been particularly alarmed at reports of extensive bombardments and the concerns expressed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees about the risks that such actions pose for the civilian population.

Ireland and her partners in the European Union have called on Turkey to withdraw its forces rapidly from northern Iraq and to co-operate fully with the United Nations High Commissioner to ensure that civilians are not further endangered. We believe that any genuine security problems for Turkey deriving from the situation in north Iraq should be addressed within the United Nations framework and should not be the subject of unilateral action by Turkey.

In summary, we recognise the need to assist democratic forces in facing the major political and economic challenges with which Turkey is currently confronted. However, Turkey must, for its part, respond positively to the European Union's gesture and accelerate the internal reform and democratisation process in the sense envisaged by Prime Minister Ciller's Government and ensure that adequate reforms in the area of human rights are effectively implemented in practice. We will continue to avail of dialogue with Turkey to pursue improvements in human rights and we will work with our EU partners and in the OSCE to this end.