Turkey: CHP Sends Letter to Int’l Community Explaining Reason for Not Taking Oath in Parliament
The main opposition leader sent a letter Friday to the international community, explaining his party’s reasons for not taking oath in Turkey’s Parliament on Tuesday.
Eight deputies elected are currently in custody due to ongoing court cases against them and several of these MPs have been kept in arbitrary detention for more than 800 days, said Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, in the letter sent to the United Nations and European Union, among others.
“Some have appealed more than 50 times for their release, pending trial before the High Criminal Courts. These appeals have been rejected on the basis of cliche grounds that are not consistent with the criteria stipulated by the European Court of Human Rights,” he said.
The party leader explained the process and said for the eight MPs to perform their duties in accordance with the will of the people, they need to be released from custody and enter Parliament to take their oath as other deputies have done.
Kılıçdaoğlu said the eight deputies, following their election, requested from the courts their release from custody.
“However, these requests were rejected by the courts on such unjustified grounds as ‘the evidence related to the case has not yet been gathered,’ something the accused can surely not be held responsible for. The High Criminal Court rejected a second appeal and agreed with the decision of the courts of the first instance and kept them in custody,” he said.
He stressed the right to hold public office for these eight parliamentarians duly elected by the people and their right to assume their political duties that have been blocked by the special courts.
“The essential point to note here is that none of these eight MPs have been convicted in the ongoing cases that led to their detention,” said the party leader.
“Another important point to note is that these MPs are not seeking to take advantage of their immunity as deputies, but are only wishing to take their oath to begin their term and their duties as members of Parliament,” he said.
The MPs do not object to the continuation of their trial and the completion of the judicial process, but as they have not been convicted of any crime, they do wish to exercise the duties of their public office and answer to the people who elected them, Kılıçdaroğlu said. “The court rulings in question are blocking this process.”
He said the rulings of the courts in question were contradicting Article 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights concerning the “deprivation of liberty” and Article 3 of its Optional First Protocol concerning “the right to vote and be elected.”
This situation in Turkey is also inconsistent with articles 2 and 25 of the U.N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, or ICCPR, related to the discrimination of the right to participate in political life, the CHP head said.
“As the CHP, we will continue to pursue the case in Parliament with utmost attention and care, to ensure respect for the citizens’ right to vote and to be elected and the security of legislative activities in order to protect democracy and the rule of law in Turkey,” he concluded.
Along with the U.N. and the EU, the letter was sent to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, or OSCE, Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, Amnesty International, Journalists without Borders, ambassadors in Turkey and foreign journalists.
July 1, 2011
SOURCE: Hürriyet Daily News
