Strong criticism of Turkey by British MPs in debate on Kurds and human rights

A debate highlighting the persecution of Kurds and journalists in Turkey, as well as the difficult living conditions for many women in the country, took place in the British House of Commons.

The rapporteur was Labor MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle, as chairman of the Inter-Party Parliamentary Committee on Kurdistan in Turkey and Syria.

The main focus of the discussion was the political persecution of the Kurds by the Erdogan regime, with the rapporteur stressing that Ankara is ignoring the mandate of the European Court of Human Rights from December 2020 to release the leading HDP group and Kurdish MPs.

Mr Russell-Moyle said it was an "organized targeting" by the Turkish government of opposition lawmakers in favor of autonomy or self-determination for Kurdish areas.

The MP agreed with the intervention of another Labor member, John Spellar, who said that Britain should press NATO to demand from the Erdogan regime to respect democratic values ​​regarding the Kurds.

Mr Russell-Moyle added that pressure should also be exerted through the Council of Europe. Numerous reports of violations of civil rights of municipal officials in Kurdish areas.

He also referred to cases of discrimination against the Kurds through the ban on teaching the Kurdish language and the closure of cultural organizations.

Mr Russell-Moyle also condemned Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention on the Prevention and Control of Violence against Women, as well as the imprisonment or censorship of journalists.

He noted that the parliamentary committee found that 62 newspapers, 24 radio stations, 19 magazines and 29 publishing houses, a total of 177 media outlets, had been shut down by the Erdogan government and 2.500 journalists had been silenced in one way or another.

According to Amnesty International, cited by the British MP, 1/3 of imprisoned journalists worldwide are in Turkey. "This is a statistic that shames Turkey," said Russell-Moyle.

Finally, he called on the Foreign Office to demand the release of HDP leaders from Ankara and to press the Turkish government to respect the rule of law, democratic principles, women and freedom of the press.

Also speaking were Kurdish-born North London MP Ferial Clark, who often highlights the plight of Turkey's Kurds, and the shadowy Labor Deputy Foreign Minister Kathryn West.

Also speaking was former Conservative parliamentary committee chair Crispin Blunt, who said he considered it crucial for Britain's post-Brexit reputation to carefully review its relations with Turkey, no matter how crucial. relationships. "It's a moment to define the values ​​we will stand for. "We can not ignore the fact that Turkey has imprisoned more journalists than any other country, nor its behavior and policy towards the Kurdish minority," Mr Blunt said.

Scottish National Party (SNP) MP Alin Smith also intervened to stress that Turkey has an "increasingly authoritarian government" and to add to the list of human rights violations the "illegal occupation of an EU member state of Cyprus". ».

Undersecretary of State Amanda Milling provided the answer to all this. He first pointed out the many common British-Turkish interests and then said that the British Government "notes" the concerns expressed by the MPs as well as the arrests of HDP executives.

He called on the HDP to "keep its distance" from the PKK and "its continuing terrorist activities".

Ms Milling added: "We encourage Turkey to ensure that all opposition parties are free to carry out their legitimate political activities in accordance with Turkish law, without intimidation and regardless of which sector of society they belong to."

He also said that London encourages Turkey to respect religious freedom, that it raises human rights issues with Ankara, and that it has raised concerns with the OSCE over the large number of arrests of HDP officials.

"As a friend and ally of Turkey, we will continue to raise human rights concerns on a regular basis and be clear in our expectation that Turkey will uphold the important values ​​of Turkish law that we share. "At the same time, it is right that we continue to strengthen our relationship with a vital UK partner."