Türkiye`li aydınlardan Avrupa Konseyi`ne çağrı

Letter to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the European Union Member States
21.6.2013
Dear Ministers,
We learned with dismay that the European Council may postpone the long-planned
negotiations on the chapter on Regional Policy due to start next Wednesday.
In view of the Turkish government's response to the peaceful demonstrations of Gezi Park and
the brutality of the repression across the country against the demonstrators, some governments
in EU member states may think that the situation calls for a punitive measure. To choose
such a penalty would be the result of erroneous judgment.
One should be vigilant in the efforts to create the conditions that favor the rule of law in a
country where the respect for such does not exist. The rule of law has suffered considerably in
recent times precisely when the EU membership process gradually ground to a halt. The
democratic gains attained between 2002 and 2005, during the period of active preparation for
accession, have been eroded gradually as the process itself was waning. We are well aware of
the fact that the causes of four deaths and several thousand injuries caused by the recent wave
of repression and brutality will not likely to have their day in a court of law. We also know
that detainments of political opponents following the Gezi Park demonstrations could lead to
questionable court cases. These make it all the more urgent that the rights of the citizens not
be put in jeopardy for the sake of penalizing a government for its wrongdoings.
Chapter 22 on regional policy and the coordination of structural instruments is the first
chapter that would be opened to negotiations since June 2010. Given its content, this chapter
is of vital importance for the peaceful resolution of the Kurdish conflict and the adoption of
decentralization rules that the Turkish administration urgently needs to embrace. We can not
ignore the obvious link between the citizens’ struggle to safeguard the ecological and cultural
integrity of a neighborhood and the excessive centralization of power that Turkey suffers
from.
We urge the Council not to hinder the popular movement of democratization on its tracks by
opting to freeze negotiations, on the pretext of punishing the authorities. We urge them not to
alienate this great burst of youthful dynamism, so full of life that voices aspirations that are in
total harmony with Europe’s democratic principles.
Sincerely,
Nebahat Akkoç (KAMER-Women’s Center)
Cengiz Aktar (Professor of Political Science)
Hakan Altınay (Open Society Foundation)
Selçuk Demirel (Drawer)
Alev Ebuzziya (Ceramic Artist)
Ayşe Erkmen (Artist)
Korhan Gümüş (Architect, Taksim Platform)
Gülsün Karamustafa (Painter)
Osman Kavala (Anadolu Kültür)
Ahmet İnsel (Professor of Economics)
Necdet İpekyüz (Diyarbakır Institute)
Ayşe Kadıoğlu (Professor of Political Science)
Fuat Keyman (Professor of Political Science)
Yörük Kurtalan (Youth activist)
Elif Şafak (Writer)
Baskın Oran (Professor of Political Science)
Soli Özel (Professor of Political Science)
Ferzan Özpetek (Film director)
Betül Tanbay (Professor of Mathematics, Taksim Platform)
Sinan Ülgen (EDAM)