I. Ermeni Sorunun Tarihsel Boyutu
5.
Uluslararası Kuruluşlar Kararları
Avrupa Parlamentosu
Kararı - Kasım 15, 2000
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"...Calls, therefore, on the Turkish Government and the Turkish Grand
National Assembly to give fresh support to the Armenian minority, as an
important part of Turkish society, in particular by public recognition of
the genocide which that minority suffered before the establishment of the
modern state of Turkey;..."
Turkey's progress towards accession
European Parliament resolution on the 1999 Regular Report from the
Commission on Turkey's progress towards accession
The European Parliament,
- having regard to Turkey's application for accession to the European Union,
- having regard to its resolution of 3 December 1998 on the European
Strategy for Turkey(1),
- having regard to the 1999 Regular Report from the Commission on Turkey's
progress towards accession,
- having regard to its resolution of 2 December 1999 on the implementation
of measures to intensify the EC-Turkey customs union(2),
- having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 764/2000 of 10 April 2000
regarding the implementation of measures to intensify the EC-Turkey Customs
Union(3),
- having regard to its resolution of 6 September 2000 on measures to promote
economic and social development in Turkey(4),
- having regard to its resolution of 7 September 2000 on the Turkish
bombardment of northern Iraq(5),
- having regard to Rule 47(1) of the Rules of Procedure,
- having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human
Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy,
A. recalling the decision taken on 13 December 1999 by the European Council
meeting in Helsinki to grant Turkey the status of candidate country for
accession to the European Union and to establish an accession partnership
and a single financial framework with a view to helping Turkey's application
to progress in accordance with the Copenhagen Criteria,
B. whereas, following the granting to Turkey of candidate country status,
the Union must now, by common agreement with the Turkish Government, devise
and implement in an appropriate manner a credible comprehensive strategy
with a view to accession,
C. whereas accession negotiations cannot begin until Turkey complies with
the Copenhagen criteria,
D. whereas a climate of mutual trust should be created between Turkey and
the European Union so that Turkey does not perceive the Union as an
'exclusive Christian club' but as a community of shared values which
embrace, in particular, tolerance for other religions and cultures, and
whereas no formal cultural or religious conditions are attached to accession
to the European Union,
E. whereas a clear and detailed programme will be an effective encouragement
to accelerate reform in favour of protection of human rights and democracy,
and will greatly strengthen the hand of those in the Turkish government,
parliament, and civil society institutions who are keen to establish full
respect for basic rights in their country,
F. noting the legislative changes carried out along the path towards
democratisation since the 1995 constitutional reform and the establishment
in the Turkish Grand National Assembly of the Conciliation Committee, which
is responsible for reforming the constitution,
G. welcoming the signature by Turkey on 15 August and 8 September 2000 of
four important UN conventions, on political, civil, social and cultural
rights respectively, which must be ratified as soon as possible so that
human rights and democratic pluralism may be guaranteed in that country,
H. emphasising that, despite the progress already achieved along the path
towards democratisation, human rights and the situation of minorities must
continue to be improved by the implementation of those conventions,
I. whereas, according to Lord Russell-Johnston, President of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the confirmation by Ankara
of the sentence imposed on former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan is not in
conformity with the principles of democratic pluralism,
J. whereas Resolution 1250 of the UN Security Council called on the Turkish
and Greek Cypriot communities to begin negotiations in the autumn of 1999,
and whereas no progress in that direction has been recorded, despite the
encouraging contacts made under the aegis of the UN Secretary-General in
December 1999 and in January 2000; regretting, on the contrary, the
violation of the military status quo by Turkish occupation forces in the
village of Strovilia since 1 July 2000,
K. whereas the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in 'Loïzidou v
Turkey' (No 15318/89), handed down on 28 July 1998 and ruling in favour of
the plaintiff, has still not been implemented,
L. whereas the election to the Presidency of the Republic of Mr Sezer, who
has demonstrated his commitment to the rule of law, will make it easier for
the necessary reforms to be successfully completed,
M. noting Turkey's place in the economy of Europe - it had a GDP of USD 185
billion in 1999 - and the links already established between Turkey and the
European Union, with 53% of Turkish exports going to current Member States
of the European Union and Turkey being the sixth largest importer of EU
products,
N. whereas, in December 1999, the package of economic reforms demanded by
the IMF with a view to introducing budgetary austerity and to curbing
galloping inflation was approved by the Turkish Parliament,
O. encouraging the Turkish Government, on the one hand, to commit itself to
carrying out structural reforms which, ranging from dismantling state
subsidies to reorganising pensions and accelerating privatisation, must
therefore strengthen the bases of a free market economy accessible to all
and, on the other, to continue its efforts to adopt Community legislation,
P. recognising Turkey's important geostrategic position, having regard to
its role within the Atlantic Alliance and its status of WEU associate
member, but noting that geopolitical and strategic considerations must not
be the decisive factors in negotiations about accession,
Q. welcoming the fact that Turkey has signalled its intention to commit
military capabilities under the common European security and defence policy,
R. regretting and unequivocally condemning the recent incursion by the
Turkish Air Force into Iraqi airspace when Kendakor was bombed on 15 August
2000,
S. endorsing the view set out in the Commission report that Turkey has
undertaken a significant process of self-evaluation as regards the level of
harmonisation of its legislation with the acquis communautaire and that it
is the only candidate country to have joined the Customs Union,
T. welcoming the decision taken in this spirit on 5 July 2000 by the Turkish
Parliament to include in the eighth five-year development plan the
principles governing transposition of the acquis communautaire and to
establish a Secretariat for the European Union responsible for coordinating
the work required for such transposition,
U. emphasising, however, that a sustained effort is still needed to push
through the current reform of the Turkish Civil Code, with particular regard
to parental and women's rights,
V. expressing its concern about the bill seeking to make it possible to
dismiss civil servants on ideological or religious grounds,
1. Welcomes the resumption of institutional activities and political
dialogue in the Association Council, which met on 11 April 2000 after being
suspended for three years, and welcomes in particular the recent
implementation of the Association Council's conclusions with the initiation
of an analytical review of the acquis communautaire through the
establishment of eight subcommittees entrusted with the task of setting
priorities for incorporation of the acquis; notes with satisfaction that the
first meetings of three of those subcommittees have been successful and
trusts that the remaining subcommittees" meetings will be held by the end of
this year;
2. Encourages the Turkish Government to step up its efforts to achieve
democratisation, with particular regard to reform of the Penal Code,
independence of the judiciary, freedom of expression, the rights of
minorities and the separation of powers, and especially the impact of the
role of the army on Turkish political life;
3. Calls on the Turkish Government and Parliament to ratify and implement
the UN conventions on political, civil, social and cultural rights which it
signed recently;
4. Encourages in this respect the Turkish Parliament and Government to
incorporate in the government programme the report drawn up by the
Secretariat of the Turkish Supreme Coordination Council for Human Rights;
welcomes the Turkish Council of Ministers" adoption of this report on 21
September 2000 as a "reference and working document"; and calls for the
section on cultural rights to be reinserted into the report, with specific
measures to protect the rights of minorities being added thereto;
5. Looks forward to the early abolition of the State Security Courts and
welcomes the adoption of the law suspending the prosecution of, and
penalties imposed on, press and broadcasting offences;
6. Calls, initially, for an amnesty with a view to achieving a reform of the
Penal Code in the medium term so that it complies with the universal
principle of freedom of expression;
7. Views the recent decision by the Constitutional Court on the law offering
a reprieve to those who have committed press offences as a step that
reinforces the rule of law; encourages the competent authorities to take
this opportunity to continue their reforms in this direction, knowing that
this process will logically lead them to a fundamental reconsideration of
Article 312 of the Penal Code;
8. Calls, after the many promises made to this effect, for the death penalty
to be abolished as soon as possible as part of the reform of the Penal Code
and, pending such abolition, for the current moratorium on executions to be
maintained;
9. Recalls the importance it attaches to recognition of the basic rights of
the cultural, linguistic and religious groups in Turkey, who make up the
country's multifaceted population;
10. Calls, therefore, on the Turkish Government and the Turkish Grand
National Assembly to give fresh support to the Armenian minority, as an
important part of Turkish society, in particular by public recognition of
the genocide which that minority suffered before the establishment of the
modern state of Turkey;
11. Notes the decisions taken on 30 November 1999 to lift the state of
emergency in the Province of Siirt and on 26 June 2000 in the Province of
Van, and calls on the Turkish Government to lift the state of emergency in
the other provinces of the south-eastern region as well; calls for a
specific solution to be found for the Kurdish people, encompassing the
requisite political, economic and social responses;
12. Urges the Turkish Government genuinely to redirect its policy with a
view to improving the human rights situation of all its citizens, including
those belonging to groups whose roots go back deep into the country's past,
by putting an end to the political, social and cultural discrimination which
they suffer, and in order to find, for those of Kurdish origin, a political
solution which respects the territorial integrity of Turkey; calls also on
the Turkish authorities to engage in a dialogue with the political
representatives of the Kurdish community, especially the mayors of towns in
the south-east of the country;
13. Demands the release of Leyla Zana, winner of the European Parliament
Sakharov Prize, and of the former MPs of Kurdish origin imprisoned because
of the views they hold;
14. Welcomes the Turkish Government's adoption in September 2000 of an
action plan which aims to restore economic balance with a view to resolving
regional disparities by committing appropriate resources, and to promote the
reopening of hamlets and the reconstruction of villages so that their
inhabitants may return to them, together with other measures aimed at
boosting investment in the south-east;
15. Welcomes the decisions taken by the Helsinki European Council to set up
a single financial framework, based on an appropriate level of resources,
and an accession partnership; calls on the Council and Commission to
implement those two decisions as soon as possible and to reassess the amount
of the European Union's financial assistance to Turkey, which should meet
the needs of the pre-accession strategy on the basis of previous European
Council conclusions with particular reference to the issue of human rights
as well as the issues referred to in paragraphs 4 and 9(a) of the Helsinki
conclusions;
16. Calls on the European Council, in accordance with the provisions of the
European Union's political dialogue with the associated countries, to take
note of the Turkish Government's request to be involved in one way or
another in the process of developing the common foreign and security policy
and welcomes Turkey's determination to contribute to improving European
capabilities within the framework of the common European security and
defence policy; considers that any such contribution has to be preceded by a
clearly stated policy of respect for the territorial integrity of Member
States;
17. Welcomes the start of negotiations on confidence-building measures
agreed on 31 October 2000 by the foreign ministers of both Turkey and
Greece;
18. Calls on the Turkish Government, in accordance with Resolution 1250 of
the UN Security Council, to contribute towards the creation, without
preconditions, of a climate conducive to negotiations between the Greek and
Turkish Cypriot communities, with a view to reaching a negotiated,
comprehensive, just and lasting settlement which complies with the relevant
UN Security Council resolutions and the recommendations of the UN General
Assembly, as reaffirmed by the European Council; hopes that this will be
possible during the fifth round of proximity talks which will begin on 10
November 2000 and that those talks will result in bilateral negotiations,
under the aegis of the UN, which will enable substantial progress to be
made;
19. Calls on the Turkish Government to withdraw its occupation forces from
northern Cyprus;
20. Calls on the Turkish Government, as it has proposed, to improve its
relations with all its neighbours in the Caucasus within the framework of a
Stability Pact for the region;
21. Calls in this connection on the Turkish Government to launch a dialogue
with Armenia aimed in particular at re-establishing normal diplomatic and
trade relations between the two countries and lifting the current blockade;
22. Calls on the Turkish Government, in cooperation with the Commission, to
pursue its efforts with a view to enhancing the implementation of the
pre-accession strategy as regards the incorporation of the acquis
communautaire, notably by improving the situation in fields such as the
single market, agriculture, transport, the environment and administrative
organisation;
23. Welcomes the Turkish Government's recent statement that the reform
process, which covers the amendments to the Turkish Penal and Civil Codes,
including parental and women's rights, would be stepped up during the coming
year;
24. Calls on the Turkish Government to comply with previous and future
decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and to consider the
proposals made by the Council of Europe with regard to the training of
judges and police officers;
25. Reminds Turkey also of the commitments it has given within the Council
of Europe and calls on it to transpose Council of Europe instruments in
particular so as to permit more effective monitoring of the application of
political measures that are part of the accession partnership;
26. Takes the view that Turkey does not currently meet all the Copenhagen
political criteria and reiterates its proposal for the setting up of
discussion forums, consisting of eminent politicians from the European Union
and Turkey as well as representatives of civil society, in order to promote
political dialogue and help Turkey progress along the path towards
accession; welcomes the initiative taken by the former President of Turkey,
Mr Demirel, to establish a Europe-Turkey Foundation, which might also be
involved in those forums;
27. Calls on the Commission to devise and implement additional programmes in
the field of education, given the exceptionally high proportion of the
population (50%) under 25, in order to help foster understanding of the
basic principles of the shared values of Europe;
28. Calls on the Council and the Commission to find ways to improve the
effectiveness of MEDA Programmes for democracy in Turkey with a view to
strengthening civil society there, consolidating the democratic system and
supporting free and independent media in that country;
29. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission,
the Council, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and to the
Turkish Government and Grand National Assembly.
(1) OJ C 398, 21.12.1998, p. 57.
(2) OJ C 194, 11.7.2000, p. 65.
(3) OJ L 94, 14.4.2000, p. 6.
(4) Texts Adopted, Item 3.
(5) Texts Adopted, Item 18
Konrad Adenauer Caddesi No: 61 06550 Yıldız – Çankaya ANKARA
Tel: +90 312 491 60 70 Fax: +90 312 491 70 13
e-mail:
info@eraren.org web:
http://www.eraren.org/