WKI Calls on Albright to Protest Sentences of HADEP Officials in Turkey
June 11, 1997 — Washington, D.C.
The President and Executive Director of WKI, in a letter to Secretary of State Madeline Albright, today condemned the June 4, 1997 sentencing of 31 officials of the People’s Democracy Party (HADEP) on charges arising from an incident in which a Turkish flag was pulled down at a party meeting. Twenty-nine officials received 4½ year sentences and party Chairman Murat Bozlak and one other official received 6 year prison terms. The individual accused of pulling down the flag received a 22½ year sentence. (Prosecutors had asked for the death penalty). The 31 officials were convicted of having ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The state prosecutor claimed that press releases found in HADEP offices from a news agency close to the PKK constituted evidence of support for the guerrillas.
HADEP, which does not advocate violence or separatism, was formed in 1994 after the Democracy Party (DEP) was banned and its parliamentary deputies jailed or forced into exile. In Turkey’s last national elections, HADEP received more than 1.2 million votes, despite harassment and intimidation of candidates and supporters by Turkish authorities.
In the letter to Secretary Albright, WKI’s leadership stated,
“We urge you to protest this latest violation of Turkey’s stated international human rights commitments. It is incomprehensible that a NATO ally and government which promotes itself as a democracy could undertake such repressive measures without facing international condemnation. Certainly, if our government’s policy is to promote democracy in Turkey, then our government should strongly protest this attack on democracy.”
“Turkey’s regime has again demonstrated that it will not tolerate non-violent Kurdish political expression. Despite paying lip service to Western allies, it is clear that hardline, military-backed approaches remain the favored means for dealing with issues underlying Kurdish discontent in Turkey — even when such policies strengthen the hands of extremists, undermine democracy and destabilize the entire region.
“We urge our government not to turn a blind eye towards this and other infringements of democracy in Turkey. If the U.S. Government desires regional stability and a long-term, stable relationship with Turkey, it must pressure the Turkish Government to abandon undemocratic, militaristic responses to the cultural and political aspirations of its Kurdish citizens.”