• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Friday, March 31, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

Turkey’s Latest Crackdown Spells Dangerous New Normal for Human Rights Defenders

Anders L. Pettersson by Anders L. Pettersson
10/26/21
in Featured, Opinion
Erdogan Threatens to Open Europe Gates for Refugees

Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 15, 2014. Photo: AFP, Adem Altan

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

On March 20, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to withdraw Turkey from the Istanbul Convention by presidential decree was received as “devastating news” by the Council of Europe and rights groups worldwide.

Pulling out from the convention — which aims to prevent and combat violence against women and to which Turkey was the first signatory in 2011 — is a new low in the country’s troubling human rights record.

However, it is only the “tip of the iceberg,” the latest and most visible in a series of recent populist ploys by the Turkish government which gravely endanger the rights and well-being of critical voices.

Earlier this month, in the space of four days, the Turkish government took a series of measures that jeopardize its human rights commitments, particularly related to the right to freedom of association and expression.

Banning Opposition Party

On March 17, the Court of Cassation’s Chief Public Prosecutor initiated proceedings to ban the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) on allegations it was “acting together with terrorists.”

The party, often referred to as pro-Kurdish, is in fact the second-largest opposition party in parliament and has fervently opposed the country’s rapid democratic backsliding.

On the same day, the Turkish Parliament moved to revoke the seat and immunity of HDP MP Omer Faruk Gergerlioglum, who was handed a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence over a social media post. Gergerlioglu subsequently announced that he would not leave the parliament building and started a protest sit-in.

Four days later, on March 21, dozens of police officers forcibly detained him at the parliament.

Intimidating Human Rights Defenders

In a dawn raid two days prior, Ozturk Turkdogan, the Human Rights Association’s co-chairperson (IHD), Turkey’s biggest human rights organization, was detained on charges of being part of an illegal group.

Turkish lawmaker for the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu reacts after being expelled from his post.
Turkish lawmaker for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu reacts after being expelled from his post. Photo: AFP

Though later released, he has been ordered to report to his local police station regularly and was issued an international travel ban. Such tactics intended to intimidate and restrict activists are commonplace in Turkey.

Last year, we at Civil Rights Defenders published an interview with Osman Isci, then-Secretary-General of IHD, in which he specifically detailed the types of attacks colleagues at the organization have faced over the years.

‘More Democratic Turkey’

What’s remarkable, this latest round of repression against human rights defenders comes merely two weeks after President Erdogan signed a new Human Rights Action Plan, boasting it would lead to “free Individuals, strong society: a more democratic Turkey.”

The reality on the ground couldn’t be more contrasting. The Action Plan comes amid anti-LGBTI+ rhetoric by high-ranking government officials, widespread student protests across Turkey’s main campuses, and the arrest of 13 women for shouting slogans at a demonstration in central Istanbul on International Women’s Day.

Last week’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention was the most damning of them all. It was the first time the country formally pulled out of a human rights treaty, and it certainly sent a resounding message, both at home and abroad, that this government values its international commitments as much as the paper they are written on.

Yet it also comes at an increasingly precarious time, in which, each morning, colleagues and partners ask themselves: Who will be next? When will they come for us?

Solidarity

Most chilling is the government’s official justification for withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention: “it was hijacked by a group of people attempting to normalize homosexuality – which is incompatible with Turkiye’s social and family values.”

Such inflammatory rhetoric is intended to shore up nationalist votes amid sinking ratings for the ruling party. Referring to Turkey as Turkiye in an English-language communique suggests no effort to hide this.

However, the consequences are that the Turkey’s LGBTI+ community and other vulnerable groups find themselves in the crossfire of a ruthless populist campaign. The need for widespread solidarity has seldom been greater.

Civil Rights Defenders and other organizations working with vulnerable groups in Turkey are bracing for a new normal, in which human rights defenders, independent journalists, and other critical voices will be exposed to daily threats and attacks.

We call upon all relevant civil society organizations and international stakeholders to closely monitor developments and raise their voices whenever violations occur.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Globe Post.
ShareTweet
Anders L. Pettersson

Anders L. Pettersson

Executive Director of the Stockholm-based human rights organization Civil Rights Defenders

Related Posts

Syrian rescuers and civilians search for victims and survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building, in the rebel-held northern countryside of Syria's Idlib province on the border with Turkey, early on February 6, 2023. Syrian rescuers (White Helmets) and civilians search for victims and survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building
World

Quake Kills Over 1,200 Across Turkey, Syria

by Staff Writer
February 6, 2023
Greek Immigration Minister Notis Mitarachi
Refugees

Greece Denies Turkey Claims Over Six Migrants Killed at Sea

by Staff Writer
September 14, 2022
anti femicide group
Democracy at Risk

Anti-Femicide Group Goes on Trial in Turkey, Faces Risk of Closure

by Staff Writer
June 1, 2022
The Club Netflix
Lifestyle

Netflix Series Helps Heal Wounds of Turkey’s Jews

by Staff Writer
March 19, 2022
AFP photographer arrested
Media Freedom

Turkish Reporters Demand Protection After Violent Arrest

by Staff Writer
June 29, 2021
Turkish lawmaker for the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu reacts after being expelled from his post.
World

Turkey Detains Dozens of Pro-Kurdish Party Officials

by Staff Writer
March 19, 2021
Next Post
Chinese President Xi Jinping votes on Hong Kong’s electoral system.

China Approves Radical Overhaul of Hong Kong's Political System

Tareq Alaows was planning to run for a seat in the German parliament.

Syrian Refugee Ends German Election Bid Over 'Racism'

Recommended

Damage from a series of powerful storms and at least one tornado is seen on March 25, 2023, in Rolling Fork, Mississippi

After Tornado Kills 25, Mississippi Faces More Extreme Weather

March 26, 2023
Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
participants of an artificial intelligence conference

How AI Could Upend the World Even More Than Electricity or the Internet

March 19, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
Heavily armed police inspect the area near a Jehovah's Witness church where several people have been killed in a shooting in Hamburg, northern Germany

Eight Dead in Shooting at Jehovah’s Witness Hall in Germany

March 10, 2023
Myanmar Rohingya refugees look on in a refugee camp in Teknaf, in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar, on November 26, 2016

US Announces $26M in New Aid for Rohingya

March 8, 2023

Opinion

Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
An earthquake survivor reacts as rescuers look for victims and other survivors in Hatay, a Turkish province where hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the earthquake

Heed the Call of Our Broken World

March 1, 2023
Top view of the US House of Representatives

‘Cringy Awards:’ Who Is the Most Embarrassing US House Representative?

February 13, 2023
Protesters rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, outside of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, Michigan, on January 27, 2023

How Do Violent ‘Monsters’ Take Root?

February 3, 2023
George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post