Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-01-20-Speech-3-330"
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"en.20100120.18.3-330"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner Rehn, I realise that this debate on Turkey, on enlargement, may be the last time I speak to you. In any case, I should like to thank you for the information you have always been willing to provide in discussions with us, with me. My very warm thanks to you.
President-in-Office of the Council, Mr López Garrido, ladies and gentlemen, today’s debate is not about opening chapters. It is about democratisation – certain aspects of democratisation, in particular – as the progress report on Turkey and Parliament’s vision are on the agenda for the next part-session in Strasbourg. I agree with Commissioner Rehn that it is terribly important that Turkey move towards democracy. I should like to congratulate Turkey emphatically on all the efforts it has already made in this field, including with regard to the Kurdish issue. After all, who would have thought 10 years ago, five years ago even, that there would now be television programmes in Kurdish?
When, in mid-2009, Turkey launched what it called the ‘democratic opening’ initiative, this produced an unprecedented debate – not only a debate in the parliament, but also an unprecedented debate in the media. At that time, I hoped that debate would produce very tangible, firmly rooted rights for all Turkish citizens at long last. In October, I congratulated all my Turkish counterparts on daring to hold that debate in spite of public opposition. I have called on them to follow the debate with very specific measures to flesh out this opening. Following all the positive energy that had been put into this, however, Turkey’s dark side then reared its head again, as the ruling of the Turkish Constitutional Court brought renewed terrorist attacks. There was a wave of arrests of Democratic Society Party (DTP) members, and the threat of arrest still hangs over members of the Turkish Parliament. This also threatens to put an end to this opening and I have a nasty feeling about this. Whilst I regret the decision of the Constitutional Court, I understand that the same Court is calling for the implementation of the recommendations of the Venice Commission. This House has always condemned violence and terrorism, and has argued in favour of political solutions. After all, only dialogue within Turkish society and legally guaranteed sustainable rights can bring peace, security and prosperity for Turkish citizens, and will also be of great benefit to us."@en1
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