Turkey further from EU accession than in 2007, Swoboda says


Date posted: May 12, 2014

 

Cansu ÇAMLIBEL

Turkey is further away from European Union membership today than it was seven years ago, Hannes Swoboda, leader of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, has said, voicing concerns over judicial independence in the country.

“It is a long-term process. We are further away from the accession than perhaps seven years ago. But that does not mean you are totally away from it. This is the process; you get closer, then you get far away a bit … at the moment, we are a bit far away,” Swoboda told daily Hürriyet on the sidelines of a conference titled “International Symposium on Justice and Rule of Law” held in Istanbul last week for the first time. “For the short term, we are in a very critical situation. But we cannot give up the long-term aims.”

In the last two years, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has changed and has rolled back some reforms that were significant for the EU, according to Swododa.

“When Erdoğan came to power, he started some reforms, speaking about a Kurdish solution, pushing back the military to its corner internally and changing the criminal code. These were the moments when we thought ‘OK, we are moving forward.’ But then in the last two years, Erdoğan started to like power too much and attack judicial institutions. This is pulling back some of the reforms we were defending,” said Swoboda, recalling that the Turkish government’s new legislation transferred significant powers over the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) to the Justice Ministry, a development reversing previous reforms.

He said Europe and Turkey had to work for accession. “We have to convince our citizens in our countries that Turkish membership would be good,” Swoboda said on Europeans’ side. For Turkey’s part, it should do “a real constitutional reform” and realize “decentralization,” he added.

“You can’t keep such a big country together with populations including the Kurdish one in a unitary state. It is one of the issues, but there are many other issues concerning democratic reforms,” said Swoboda.

He also said center-right European politicians could cease supporting Turkey’s accession process in the near future, predicting that there would be more extremist parties in the European Parliament after the elections. “The danger is that some right-wing parties could move away from the enlargement and Turkey issue because they are afraid that they could be eaten up by the extremists. The effect will not be immediate, but we might see the influence over the center right,” Swoboda said.

Swoboda voiced concern over Erdoğan’s recent steps to limit the independence of the judiciary.

“There are some developments in the domestic scene concerning the independence of the judiciary, concerning the question of individual rights and the attempt to close Twitter and YouTube. These are symbols. We, in Europe, are concerned about this trend. We see some positive developments in Erdoğan’s policy on the Kurdish issue, the Armenian issue and other areas. But domestically, we have some serious doubts,” he said.

Swoboda said the main problem in the judicial system in Turkey was the government’s move to
reshuffle officials from the judiciary and police on the grounds that they were members of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s movement.

“The main problem is that there are severe accusations from Erdoğan against the Gülen movement over infiltrating the judiciary and the police. He is using this argument to change a lot of personalities in the judiciary and police, trying to restrict the independence of the Constitutional Court and the HSYK. Therefore, we fear for the independence of justice,” he said.

Swoboda said the Gülen movement alone was not to blame, even if it has infiltrated the judiciary and police institutions, noting that the prime minister must have had a role in such a period.

“If they had the chance to infiltrate, they could only do it when Erdoğan came to power. Maybe somebody very close to the movement opened the doors for them to the administration. Now the government is going against them without [stating] the necessary transparency,” he said, adding that Erdoğan was afraid of revealing when and how members of the Gülen movement attained top positions in the judiciary and the police since he aided them in their rise.

He also said judges must reveal whether all the officials reassigned and dismissed from their profession were members of the Gülen movement and involved in any coup attempt against the government.
“If you mistrust the judicial system, then you will have to invite judges and lawyers from outside to look into it objectively without being bound by anything,” he said.

He also defined the last two years of Erdoğan’s leadership as “autocratic,” creating enemies outside and inside the country to control the people.

“He is an autocrat. The language he uses is the typical language of an autocrat,” he said, likening Erdoğan’s rule to Viktor Orban in Hungary while also differentiating it from President Bashar al-Assad’s rule in Syria.

Source: Hurriyet Daily , May 12, 2014


Related News

The Hizmet (Gulen) movement and transparency

Erkam Tufan Aytav Some groups have been parroting, “The [Gülen] Community should become more transparent.” As you know, with “the Community,” they are referring to the Gülen movement. Let us try to understand this sentence and respond to it. First of all, I need to note that when they say, “the Community,” they are referring […]

EU stresses right to freedom of expression in wake of media investigations [in Turkey]

The European Union has underlined that public authorities should not interfere with freedom of expression in the media, against the background of Turkish government pressure on the media through criminal and civil lawsuits. “The right to freedom of expression includes the freedom to receive and impart information and ideas without the interference of public authorities,” Peter Stano, spokesperson for EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle, said to the Cihan news agency.

Hizmet’s political stance: Speak the truth to power, no matter what the cost is

Fethullah Gulen dearly paid the cost of this truth-telling with many false allegations followed by years of trials and tribulations. Similarly he did not mind being politically incorrect when he raised his voice about the ongoing governmental corruption. Without violating the presumption of innocence, he said these allegations should be investigated thoroughly, and whether wrongdoers are affiliated with a political party or the Gulen movement, should be brought to justice.

NTA Tuesday Live on Turkish Hizmet Movement in Nigerian

A Turkish political, non-governmental, civil society organisation, Hizmet Movement, has made commendable contributions in Nigeria’s socio-economic life. The movement, which began in the late 1960s, particularly focuses on education, charity and dialogue, which it believes are the remedies to ignorance, poverty and disunity.

Why is the Gulen movement’s statement on press freedom significant?

BÜLENT KENEŞ As Turkey slows down its democratization and liberalization reforms, and occasionally backpedals on certain reforms, it runs into more serious problems. In particular, the slowdown in the democratization reforms Turkey is supposed to implement within the context of its European Union membership bid results in the deterioration of existing rights and freedoms. The […]

Targeted by Erdoğan, Turkish schools earn praise, offer success abroad

Turkish schools established by educational volunteers affiliated with a movement inspired by teachings of Turkish scholar Fethullah Gülen receive widespread praise due to the quality of education they provide internationally, but for months they have been targeted by the Turkish president.

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Islamic scholar Gülen offers condolences for those killed in Dağlıca attack

Turkey could find itself facing hefty legal bill for mass purges

African Initiative on Education for Peace and Development through Inter-religious and Intercultural Dialogue

86-year-old Gülen-linked philanthropist arrested on terror (!) charges

Why is the government freeing bloody murderers?

Turkish imams spied on Gülen sympathizers in Romania as well

Turkish groups call for global peace at historic İstanbul meeting

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News