[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 156 (Friday, October 31, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2185-E2186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TURKISH REPUBLIC

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 30, 2003

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, this week the Turkish Republic, 
an original participating State of the Organization for Security

[[Page E2186]]

and Cooperation in Europe, will mark its 80th anniversary. The Turkish 
Government, led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is working hard 
toward membership in the European Union. The accession of Turkey to the 
Union would recognize the important reforms that have already been 
adopted and accelerate the reform process.
  The various constitutional reform packages in recent years have 
addressed, or begun to address, many longstanding human rights 
concerns. As Chairman of the Helsinki Commission I am pleased to note 
that much needed change is beginning to take place. For example, the 
crucial issue of torture is finally receiving the attention necessary 
to prevent such abuse and address the legacy of this endemic scourge. 
Perpetrators of torture are facing punishment by a new generation of 
state prosecutors. For the first time, police who have committed acts 
of torture are being brought to justice. However the ongoing use of 
torture in southeast Turkey in the guise of anti-terrorism is an 
outrage that Turkey must bring to a halt. It is not enough to pass 
these reforms or to hold a few show trials. No, all transgressors must 
be arrested and tried. There must be a zero tolerance policy in place 
on torture.
  Other issues of concern have also benefited from the reform package 
process. For example, religious communities with ``foundation'' status 
may now acquire real property, as well as construct new churches and 
mosques and other structures for religious use. However, there is a 
considerable gap between the law and its application.
  Also, while the problem of allowing the return of internally 
displaced persons who fled the internal conflict with the PKK terrorist 
organization remains. Renewed efforts to address this problem are 
promising, such as inviting the UN Rapporteur on IDPs to visit and the 
possibility that Turkey may host an international conference on 
internally displaced persons. While Turkey still has a long way to go 
to successfully eradicate human trafficking in its borders, the 
government has taken some positive steps. While I am pleased Turkey has 
expanded its cooperation with source countries to improve its victim 
protection efforts, I want to encourage continued improvement to wipe 
out this modern day slavery.

  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, other serious concerns remain.
  While Turkey works to bring its laws and regulations into conformity 
with the Copenhagen criteria for EU accession and works toward 
fulfilling human rights commitments as an OSCE participating State, 
actions taken by police and other government authorities raise doubts 
as to the sincerity of these reforms.
  The imprisonment this month of Nurcihan and Nurulhak Saatcioglu for 
attending demonstrations four years ago protesting the prohibition 
against head scarves in public institutions, is deeply troubling. The 
fact that the government denies women who choose this religious 
expression the ability to attend state-run universities and work in 
public buildings, including schools and hospitals, is counterproductive 
and an encroachment of their right to freedom of expression. Similarly, 
authorities severely curb the public sharing of religious belief by 
either Muslims or Christians with the intent to persuade the listener 
to another point of view. These limitations on religious clothing and 
speech stifle freedom of religion and expression and are contrary to 
Turkey's OSCE commitments.
  At a fundamental level, the inability of religious groups to maintain 
property holdings is problematic, as the Office of Foundations has 
closed and seized properties of non-Muslim religious groups 
for contrived and spurious reasons. Groups most affected by this policy 
are the Syrian Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic and Greek Orthodox 
churches, which have also experienced problems when seeking to repair 
and maintain existing buildings or purchase new ones. I hope the 
application of the aforementioned reforms will rectify this problem.

  The most notable property issue concerns the continued closure of the 
Orthodox Theological School of Halki on the island of Heybeli in the 
Sea of Marmara. Considering the reportedly promising conversations 
between the church and government, I urge Turkey to return full control 
to the Ecumenical Patriarchate and allow religious training to resume, 
in keeping with relevant OSCE commitments.
  Furthermore, religious groups not envisioned by the Lausanne Treaty 
have no legal route for purchasing property and building facilities, 
since the new legal provisions affect only communities with the 
official status of a ``foundation.'' As no process exists for these 
other groups to obtain foundation status, they are forced to meet in 
private apartments. This lack of official status has real consequences, 
since provincial governorships and the Ministry of Interior have 
initiated efforts to close these meeting places, leaving the smaller 
Protestant groups and Jehovah's Witnesses without any options. Churches 
and their leaders in Diyarbakir, Mersin, Iskenderun and other towns all 
face troubling government prosecutions and threats of closure. I urge 
Turkey to create a transparent and straightforward process to grant 
religious groups so desiring official recognition, so that they too can 
enjoy the right to establish and freely maintain accessible places of 
worship of assembly.
  The continued incarceration of four Kurdish former parliamentarians: 
Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Orhan Dogan and Selim Sadak is particularly 
disturbing. Convicted in 1994, they have won their appeal to the 
European Court of Human Rights and were granted a retrial under recent 
Government of Turkey legal reforms. The retrial began March 28, and at 
each of the eight sessions, most recently October 17, the court has 
refused to release the defendants. Their continued imprisonment is an 
outrage.
  Mr. Speaker, on the 80th anniversary of the Turkish Republic, the 
initial legal reforms put in place by the government display Turkey's--
or at least the legislators in Ankara's--apparent willingness to 
address much needed reforms in human rights practices. But actions 
speak louder than words. We need to see implementation of these reforms 
seriously carried out before we can rest assured that Turkey has met 
minimal OSCE human rights commitments. As Turkey strives to enter the 
European Union, I applaud the efforts that have been made to date and 
urge Ankara to intensify the reform process.

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