“Recent events in Turkey are very worrying,” Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland said in a statement on the council’s website. “I strongly condemn the deadly attacks on Turkish security forces. And I express my sincere condolences to all victims of violence over the past days.”
Turkey has been shaken by violence since the PKK resumed its armed campaign at the end of July. In that period, around 100 members of the security forces have been martyred in attacks focused on Turkey’s southeastern provinces.
On Sunday, 16 soldiers were martyred in a roadside bomb attack in Hakkari province. Another 13 were martyred in an attack in Igdir province Tuesday.
In an apparent reference to mob attacks on media outlets and the offices of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Jagland added: “I am also alarmed by the attacks on political parties and media outlets which risk destabilising democracy."
“I urge the authorities to do all they can to protect citizens and democratic life in the country.”
His comments were echoed by Anne Brasseur, president of the council’s assembly, who said she was “gravely concerned about the recent terrorist attacks and the escalation of violence in Turkey.”
She added: “The terrorist attacks against the army and the law enforcement officials are unacceptable. I strongly condemn these and convey condolences to the families of the victims and to the people and authorities of Turkey.”
Brasseur also railed against attacks on the media and political parties.
“I strongly condemn the attacks against the HDP headquarters and several local offices as well as against the Hurriyet [newspaper] offices in Istanbul,” she said. “This is very worrying in the light of the forthcoming early parliamentary elections, which have to be held in a pluralistic and free political and media environment.”
Calling for an end to the “spiral of violence”, Brasseur said the violence threatened Turkey’s stability and had far-reaching regional implications.
www.aa.com.tr
9/9/15
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US Department of State Spokesperson John Kirby has said that there are actions that Turkey is taking that the US feels do not comport with the core values mentioned in its constitution...
ReplyDeleteKirby was grilled by journalists at a daily press briefing on Tuesday on where the US stands on the latest anti-democratic developments in Turkey, including imprisoning journalists and the recent attacks on media organizations by pro-government individuals.
Kirby said they have seen the reports about the attacks against media organizations and have called on Turkey to respect media freedoms and due process protections that are enshrined in the constitution. “They are key elements in every healthy democracy. We’re concerned by reports that the protests against the Hurriyet Daily were encouraged by members of the Justice and Development Party. Elected officials must be careful not to appear to encourage violence against media outlets,” Kirby said.
The Hurriyet daily headquarters were attacked twice this week after it reported on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent televised interview in which he had said Turkey would not be facing a chaotic environment and terrorism if a political party had received 400 seats in Parliament in the last election. Erdogan claimed the remarks were taken out of context. About 200 AK Party supporters stormed Hurriyet’s Istanbul headquarters on Sunday and damaged the building. A second attack on the newspaper came on Tuesday night...............http://asbarez.com/139642/us-says-turkeys-actions-not-in-line-with-constitution/
Rising violence in southeast Turkey following the collapse of a ceasefire between the government and Kurdish insurgents will make it difficult to hold an election due on November 1, the head of the pro-Kurdish parliamentary opposition said on Wednesday...
ReplyDeleteTurkey's mainly Kurdish southeast has seen almost daily clashes between militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and security forces since July.
“It is becoming impossible to hold an election given the security situation in the region,” Selahattin Demirtas, the head of the HDP, told a news conference in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir.
“We want an election to be held and we are not saying an election can’t be held, but we want the conditions in the region to be improved for an election.”
The conflict has shattered a peace process begun by President Tayyip Erdogan in 2012 to end an insurgency that has killed more than 40,000 people over three decades.....alarabiya.net by Reuters