John Brady
Question:111. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his response to the ongoing persecution of Kurdish activists by the Turkish Government. [28453/20]
View answerTuesday, 6 October 2020
Questions (111)
Written answers
The Government is aware of and very concerned about the detention of 82 executives of the opposition party HDP on 25 September. Among the detained are seven former HDP MPs, including the current Mayor of Kars, and some of whom have serious health issues. These arrests apparently relate to protests which took place in 2014.
The strong suspicion is that these latest arrests are politically motivated and an attempt to marginalise and isolate the opposition. Hundreds of local politicians and elected officeholders and thousands of members of the HDP have been detained on terrorism-related charges since the local elections in March 2019, and investigations have been launched against other mayors.
Ireland is clear that arrests and legal proceedings should not be used for political reasons as they seriously undermine the proper functioning of local democracy. The Turkish Government needs to ensure that its actions are in accordance with the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms. The detention of thousands of members of opposition parties on terrorism-related charges raises serious concerns regarding Turkey’s backsliding in fundamental areas as expressed on numerous occasions, in the European Commission’s annual reports as well as in European Council Conclusions.
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. We continue to support efforts to maintain contacts between Kurdish community representatives and the Turkish authorities through our funding of the Democratic Progress Institute’s Turkey Programme.
The Government will continue to closely monitor developments in Turkey both in terms of these detentions, and in terms of the wider picture regarding human rights, freedom of expression, the rule of law, and democracy.