Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 January 2017
329. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on recent developments in Turkey, including the bomb attack in Istanbul; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2624/17]
View answer342. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the increased violence in Turkey and, in particular, the bombings in Istanbul, which have resulted in many lives being lost. [1907/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 329 and 342 together.
I was deeply shocked by the twin bomb attack outside the Vodafone Arena football stadium in Istanbul on 10 December, in which 46 people tragically lost their lives, most of them police officers, and some 160 people were injured. I issued a statement on 11 December, in which I expressed, on behalf of Ireland, my utter condemnation of the appalling attack and extended my condolences to the families of all those affected by this horrific event. Our Embassy in Ankara joined with other EU representatives in Turkey in a statement which unequivocally condemned this despicable act of terrorism.
In addition to this heinous attack, Turkey has endured several other terrorist attacks over the past this year carried out predominantly by ISIS or the PKK and its affiliates. Over the course of 2016, more than 600 people lost their lives in some 20 terrorist attacks. Turkey has already suffered three terrorist attacks since the beginning of this year. I issued a statement after the deplorable mass shooting at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul in the early hours of New Year’s Day, in which 39 were brutally murdered. Only a few days later, on 5 January, a car bomb exploded at a checkpoint in Izmir, killing two people and on 16 January, at least four policemen lost their lives in a bomb attack on a police vehicle in Diyarbakir, south-east Turkey.
I utterly reject terrorism in all its forms. Ireland, along with our European partners, stands in solidarity with Turkey in the fight against terrorism.
I remain deeply concerned about the overall situation in Turkey in respect of human rights, democracy, rule of law and freedom of expression which are all issues of concern particularly in the aftermath of the attempted coup in July 2016 and the extended state of emergency, which is still in place. The concerns of the EU, which are fully shared by Ireland, were set out in a detailed statement on 8 November last. Unfortunately, these concerns remain current and are still valid.
