Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-04-11-Speech-2-244"
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"en.20000411.9.2-244"2
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"Mr President, the majority of my Group supported the Commission’s policy on Turkey and the resolution passed by the Council in Helsinki. It was and is extremely important to us that the candidate status granted to Turkey should bring about fundamental changes to democracy and hence the way in which human rights are dealt with within Turkey.
We were pleased to acknowledge the declaration by the Turkish Prime Minister that Turkey would meet the Copenhagen criteria as quickly as possible. The decision to defer the death sentence on Mr Öçalan was also welcomed as a step in the right direction.
However, we were then forced to acknowledge a number of incidents which we were and are unable to accept. The mayors belonging to HADEP were arrested and we rightly criticised this move. We are pleased that the Turkish Government reacted quickly and the mayors were released but we shall monitor the court case against them.
The former president of the Turkish human rights association, Akin Birdal, is again under arrest, despite the fact that he requires medical care. Unfortunately, he must serve another six months of a one-year sentence.
We realise that the measures needed to guarantee the permanent democratisation of Turkish society cannot be introduced overnight. However, a number of small steps are urgently needed in order to demonstrate that Turkey is prepared to take the path trodden by Spain, Portugal and Greece.
Turkey must at last abolish the death penalty, the only country in Europe yet to do so. And we should not have to wait for a reform policy on the Kurdish question. Today’s report from Luxembourg is good news but we would say, nonetheless, that Turkey must realise that respect for human rights and minority rights are prerequisite to any accession negotiations. We are prepared to be patient as far as the speed of democratisation is concerned. But we will not accept a standstill on this issue.
When my fellow Member Daniel Cohn-Bendit visited Leyla Zana, she said to him – and I think to us too – that we should support the reforms in Turkey and that the Helsinki resolution was Turkey’s only chance. In this sense we shall continue to support the Helsinki process."@en1
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