NEWS > 10 March 2006

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New Anatolian - Ankara,Turkey
10 March 2006

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'Turkey is improving, but prob

The U.S. State Department on Wednesday hailed improvements in human rights conditions in Turkey, but expressed concerns about the continuing abuses and misconduct of Turkish security officials.

The Turkey section of the new 2005 international human right report, unlike the previous report, did not emphasize religious freedom.

The report criticized both the Turkish media and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan from the standpoint of freedom of expression. "Journalists practice self-censorship" in 2005, it said. "Most media were privately owned by large holding companies that had a wide range of outside business interests; the concentration of media ownership influenced the content of reporting and limited the scope of debate."

The criticism of Erdogan concerned his intolerance towards media critics and cartoons published against him or his performance. A long list was given by the report of the lawsuits filed by the prime minister against some media members or organizations, including cartoonist Musa Kart for drawing Erdogan as a cat.

"The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; although there were improvements in a number of areas, serious problems remained," said the report.

It listed the main human rights problems as follows:

Unlawful killings -- "The government or its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however, security forces killed a number of persons, particularly in the southeast and east, for allegedly failing to obey stop warnings," said the report. "The courts investigated most alleged unlawful killings by security forces; however, the number of arrests and prosecutions in such cases remained low compared with the number of incidents, and convictions remained rare."

Torture, beatings, and other abuses of persons by security forces -- According to the report, although law prohibits such practices; members of the security forces continued to torture, beat, and otherwise abuse persons regularly. "Incidents of torture and abuse declined during the year but remained widespread. Courts rarely convicted security officials accused of torture and tended to issue light sentences when they did convict," it stated. And it also listed the "methods" of torture still used by security forces as follow: "Security officials mainly used torture methods that did not leave physical signs, including repeated slapping, exposure to cold, stripping and blindfolding, food and sleep deprivation, threats to detainees or family members, dripping water on the head, isolation, and mock executions. They reported the near elimination of more severe methods, such as electric shocks, high-pressure cold water hoses, rape, beatings on the soles of the feet and genitalia, hanging by the arms, and burns."

Poor prison conditions -- Conditions in many prisons remained poor, according to the report. "Underfunding, overcrowding, and insufficient staff training were problems," it said, underlining that some observers reported that the government made significant improvements in the food provided in the prisons, although there was a lack of potable water in some facilities.

Arbitrary detention -- Although the law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, the government at times did not observe these prohibitions, according to the report. The report also criticized the civil defense force known as village guards, mainly used in the southeastern part of the country, as being less professional and disciplined than other security forces. "The village guards were accused repeatedly of drug trafficking, rape, corruption, theft, and other human rights abuses. Inadequate oversight and compensation contributed to this problem, and in some cases Jandarma [gendarmerie] allegedly protected village guards from prosecution," said the report. It added that courts investigated many allegations of abuse and torture by security forces during the year, but rarely convicted or punished offenders.

"When courts did convict offenders, punishment generally was minimal and sentences were sometimes suspended. Authorities typically allowed officers accused of abuse to remain on duty and, in some cases, promoted them during their trial, which often took years." I

Lengthy pretrial detention -- Underlining that lengthy pretrial detention was a problem, the report said: "The law provides detainees the right to request speedy arraignment and trial; however, judges have ordered that some suspects be detained indefinitely, at times for years."

Excessively long trials -- According to the report, the law provides for an independent judiciary, however, the judiciary was sometimes subject to outside influence. "There were allegations of judicial corruption," it said. "The law prohibits the government from issuing orders or recommendations concerning the exercise of judicial power; however, the government and the National Security Council (MGK) periodically issued announcements or directives about threats to the government, which could be interpreted as general directions to the judiciary." The report also underlined the criticisms against the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors, where the justice minister serves as chairman.

Restrictions on freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and association -- Although the law provides for freedom of speech and of the press, the government continued to limit these freedoms in some cases, according to the report. "The government, particularly the police and judiciary, limited freedom of expression through the use of constitutional restrictions and numerous laws, including articles of the penal code prohibiting insults to the government, the state, 'Turkish identity,' or the institutions and symbols of the republic. Other laws, such as the Anti-Terror Law and laws governing the press and elections, also restrict speech," it said.

Restrictions on religious freedom -- Unlike the previous year�s report, the U.S State Department report did not emphasize religious freedom. But it still criticized some practices of the Turkish government restricting religious freedom. The law provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right in practice," it said. But some groups, particularly Alevis, claimed that the Religious Affairs Directorate reflected mainstream Sunni Islamic beliefs to the exclusion of other beliefs, according to the report.

Another interesting note from the report was about the religious-social orders and lodges in Turkey. "Although they were banned officially since the mid 1920s, religious-social orders and lodges remained active and widespread," the report said. "Some prominent political and social leaders continued to associate with religious-social orders, lodges, and other Islamic societies."

The report reiterated that the Turkish government did not recognize the ecumenical status of the Fener Greek patriarch, acknowledging him only as the head of the country's dwindling Greek Orthodox community. "Under existing restrictions, religious communities other than Sunni Muslims cannot legally train new clergy in the country for eventual leadership," said the report, underlining that the government did not allow the reopening of the Halki seminary on Heybeli island.

The report also criticized the Turkish media for featuring anti-Christian and anti-Jewish messages. "ATV broadcast a report in January mixing coverage of a Protestant church with footage of a sex cult," the report said. "In May the Islamist daily Yeni Safak published an interview with a person who claimed missionaries were using hypnosis to convert Muslims."

Trafficking in persons -- Although the law prohibits trafficking in persons, there were reports of trafficking in women and children to, from, and within the country for the purpose of sexual exploitation, according to the report. "There were allegations that police corruption at all levels contributed to the trafficking problem," it said.

The report also focused on violence and discrimination against women, underlining that "honor" killings remained a problem. It also talked about child abuse and widespread child labor.

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New Anatolian - Ankara,Turkey10 March 2006

'Turkey is improving, but prob

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New Anatolian - Ankara,Turkey
10 March 2006