Strasbourg, 06/04/2006 (Agence Europe) - At the request of Francis Wurtz, President of the GUE/NGL group at the European Parliament, the European Commission made a declaration on Thursday afternoon on the escalating violence in Turkey, which began at the funeral of a PKK member at the end of March in Diyarbakir. This violence has spread from the South East of the country to Istanbul and, as pointed out by European Commissioner Kyprianou, had led to several deaths (15 victims in a week, noted German Green Cem Özdemir, who is of Turkish descent). The Commissioner affirmed that the Commission unequivocally condemned terrorism and the PKK is “an organisation that figures on the EU's list of terrorist organisations”. Mr Kyprianou, however, called on Turkish security forces to show “restraint” and for the Turkish government to “address the Kurdish problem” in a comprehensive way, not just from a security perspective but also from the economic, social and cultural angle. British Liberal Sarah Ludford said that this was all very well but that the Commissioner should also talk about, “political dialogue and a political solution”. Mr Kyprianou pointed out that the Copenhagen criteria demanded respect for cultural diversity and the promotion of cultural rights. He also highlighted the need for supporting the return of “internally displaced persons” and awarding them compensation for the losses they had suffered. He explained that they would be discussing these problems in the context of their “regular monitoring” of respect of the accession political criteria. He was also keen to point out that in his speech of August 2005, Prime Minister Erdogan had recognised the need to peacefully resolve the Kurdish question.
During the debate, MEPs generally expressed the same point of view but with some differentiation. Some were more severe towards the Kurds, others towards the Turks. Polish Non-Attached Jan Tadeusz went the furthest against Ankara saying that, “we perfectly have the right to suspend negotiations with Turkey”. Since the beginning of these negotiations, the situation had got worse, pointed out Frederika Brepoels (EPP-ED, Netherlands), who also mentioned the assassination of the Head of the Kurdish Institute in Brussels. Feleknas Uca (GUE/NGL, German of Kurdish origin) said that the democratic deficit in Turkey was largely linked to the Kurdish problem. He wanted an ad hoc delegation to be sent to Turkey. Most MEPs called for dialogue between the Turkish authorities and Kurdish moderates, underlining that such a development would be very positive for Turkey's European prospects. Dutch Labour Party member Emine Bozkurt asserted that Erdogan had held out his hand to the Kurds who now had to respond in a positive manner. German Green Cem Özdemir denounced the disproportionate use of force by the Turkish military but also the “provocations” from the PKK. He stated that the Turkish state was becoming more democratic and the PKK had to become likewise and that this cold war organisation had to “evolve” and get new leaders. From the same group, Alyn Smith from Scotland shared Özdemir's view that in this conflict nothing was black or white. Several Greek MEPs spoke in the debate calling on Turkey to choose dialogue rather than leave it to the army and saying that Kurds should be allowed to exercise their rights as citizens: Konstantinos Hatzidakis (EPP-ED), Panagiotis Beglitis (PES) and Mario Matsakis (ALDE). Most Kurds reject violence and want to live in peace in a prosperous country, declared Camiel Eurlings (EPP-ED, Netherlands) who also said they should invest in this constituency. While pointing out that as a Dutch MP he had striven to get the PKK on the list of terrorist organisation, Eurlings exhorted the Turkish authorities to find partners for dialogue amongst the Kurds who wanted a peaceful solution. In the same group, British Conservative Geoffrey Van Orden vehemently attacked the PKK saying that sometimes they launch a truce (the last one went back to July 2005) and then they resort to terrorist action.
Following a proposal from Vittorio Agnoletto Italian member of the GUE/NGL and Coordinator of the European Parliament - Kurds Friendship Group, a press release indicated that around fifty MEPs from various political groups signed an “open letter” to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemning the Turkish authorities' management of the crisis in Diyarbakir. The MEPs also ask the European institutions to take the “appropriate measures for opening a formal and constructive dialogue between the government of Ankara and the Kurds”.