Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 January 2019
70. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the mass hunger strike of over 200 Kurdish political prisoners in Turkey; if he is concerned for the health and well-being of a person (details supplied); and if he has raised the hunger strike and the continued jailing of political activists by Turkey with his Turkish counterpart. [3965/19]
View answerI am very concerned with the hunger strike of the Kurdish prisoners, and in particular the case of Ms. Leyla Guven, the deputy of the People’s Democratic Party, HDP.
As the Deputy is aware, we had called for the Turkish authorities to address our concerns about Ms. Guven and we are pleased to see that she has been released, although we remain concerned that her hunger strike is continuing.
Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have conveyed our concerns to the Turkish Embassy in Dublin in regard to the arrest of HDP MPs, along with other elected politicians, journalists and academics over the past two years. We are well-aware of the challenge faced by Turkey in July 2016, with the attempted coup d'état – but the state of emergency is over and the rule of law and freedom of expression must prevail. This is a point I have made in the past and will continue to make.
On the wider Kurdish issue, it is clear that this can only be addressed through dialogue aiming at establishing a peaceful, comprehensive and sustainable solution.
Ireland has called for the resumption of such a dialogue to allow the political process to resume and we continue to support efforts to maintain contacts between the Kurdish and Turkish sides through our funding of the Democratic Progress Institute’s Turkey Programme.
On the wider issue of rights within Turkey, we have been consistent in expressing our grave concern at the disproportionate scale and scope of measures taken by the Turkish authorities in the wake of the failed coup attempt in July 2016. Together with our European partners, we have conveyed our concerns on the backsliding on the rule of law and fundamental rights; the deterioration of the independence and functioning of the judiciary; and the restrictions, detentions, imprisonments and other measures targeting parliamentarians, journalists, human rights defenders and others exercising their fundamental rights and freedoms.
I want to assure the Deputy that the Irish Government will continue to monitor developments in Turkey on the specific issue of the hunger strike, and also on the wider issues of human rights, freedom of expression, rule of law, and democracy.
