CoE anti-Racism watchdog slams Torture impunity +Roma discrimination in Turkey missed by MEPs' Draft

CoE's anti-Racism watchdog, ECRI, published in Strasbourg, just 2 Days before EU Parliament votes its Annual Report on Turkey in Brussels, a series of Strong Denonciations against persisting or even aggravating Impunity of Torturers and even Murderers or other Agressors in Turkey, which remain, curiously, ommitted or downgraded in the current MEPs draft, despite its otherwise overall quality.ECRI adds serious Concerns also for Discriminations against Roma People in Turkey,  which hosts the Biggest Roma Minority in the World, as it was revealed recently, stressing another Topical point on which EU Parliament's Draft lacks yet substance.

By presenting this week ECRI's 2010 Report on Turkey, its Chair,  Nils Muiznieks, added several strong elements, in addition to the recent ECHR's Judgements which first revealed EU Parliament's strange 2011 Lacuna on this point (See "EuroFora"s relevant previous NewsReports of 9/2010 and 12/2010), that MEPs will have a last chance to rectify at the final adoption of the Report on Turkey, after Public Debates in EU Parliament's Plenary in Strasbourg on March.
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- On Torture, "there are still Significant Concerns about Violations of Human Rights in places of Detention", observes CoE's body.

  + Even "Deaths of Members of Minority Groups while in Police Custody have occured" recently, ECRI denounces in 2011.

+ Moreover,  "allegations of ill treatment ...such as during the apprehnsion of suspects, have also Increased in recent years".

++ "At the same time, concerns have been raised about Excessive use of Force by the Police during Demonstrations, ... f.ex. in 2009 ...the (Turkish) Supreme Court ...acquited a (Turkish) Police Officer who Fired his Gun into the Croud, rather into the air, Killing one person, during a ...Demonstration in Siirt....throwing Stones. ... This judgementhas has been widely perceived as setting a Dangerous Precedent of Impunity".

- CoE's watchdog also expressed "Concern" for "continued reports of Inadequacies in Investigations and prosecutions in  ll treatmet casesn which alleged perpetrators were Membes of the (Turkish) Security Forces" :

- Thus, "in  2009, the Human Rights Investigation Committee of the... Assembly   noted that in Istanbul, in 35 such cases, involving 431 (Turkish) Police Officers, brought between 2003 and 2008, there have been a number of Acquittals and Dropped Cases, and Investigations or Trials were still underway in a number of cases"; However, NO CONVICTIONS had been secured in the cases ..already  ... resolved".

-"The failure of the (Turkish) Authorities to take Measures to protect Journalist Hrant Dink, a well known member of the Armenian community, although Threats against him were known to them, has aso Eroded Confidence in the (Turkish) Police", CoE's body noted, particularly after the 2010 ECHR Judgement which strongly condemned Ankara for covering up various culprits, both before and after the murder, (See "EuroFora"'s NewsReport dated 14/9/2010).
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+ During Recent Years, "Racist Violent"  Crimes were added in Turkey, ECRI also observed :  F.ex., "In 2006,  a Catholic Priest was killed in Trabzon", ECRI notes, (and this was notoriously followed in 2010 also by the Murder even of the Head of the Catholic Church in Turkey, Mgr Padovese, when he was ready to meet Pope Benedict in Cyprus). "In January 2007, the Chief Editor of Armenian-Turkish weekly Newspaper Agos, Hrant Dink, was assassinated.... In April 2007, three People working for a Christian Bible Publishing House in Malatya ... were killled", after being tortured. "The Perpetrators stated that they were protectin the Turkish-Islam Identity of Society against the Missonary activities of the victims. In December 2007, the editor in chief of a Greek language Newspaper was beaten outide his office in Istanbul by 2 unknown attackers. A number of Mob Attacks on Kurds ... in the west of Turkey hace reportedly occured since 2006, including in late 2009. Two Greek cemeteries were vandalized  in Istanbul and in Izmir on 2009. Minority Schools, Businessmen and Religious Institutions have reportedly been threatened by emails, letters and phone calls", ECRI observed.
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Such Crimes occur in a particularly Difficult Context for various Minorities in Turkey :
- F.ex.,  the latest study of 139 Textbooks" used in Turkish Schools ... "concluded that the Majority ...contained sections that were Nationalist, Racist, Militarist or sexist... and tended to promote an "us versus them" mentality,  rather than Peaceful Coexistence".

+ And according to  a 2009 survey  among Turks, "42%    don't want Jewish Neighbours, 48% consider that Jews are not loyal to Turkey", and "90% ... had no contact watsoever with Jews".

- "The extremely small size of the Greek Community in Turkey", where it thrived for 2 Thousand Years, "needs Urgent Action, ... if this community is to Survive", ECRI warns, denouncing various persisting restrictions, f.ex. on properties, on education, religion, etc.

- Among Kurds, "approximately 1 Million still remain Displaced persons, some for up to 24 Years, ECRI denounced. "Obstacles to Return of IDPs include poor infrastructure, Landmines and Village Guards, (often denounced by ECHR as responsible of atrocities),  with sometimes Obstructive behavior". But, ECRI is also "concerned" that IDPs unable to return still often live in Poverty and social Exclusion", while "Childrens Access to Education is Undermined. Overall, IDPs suffer from Marginalisation and Severe  economic and social Hardship" in Turkey.

ECHR's controversial 2006 finding that a Turkish mechanism for "Compensation of Damages suffered due to measures taken by the Turkish Authorities to fight Terrorism", (i.e. mainly brutal expulsions of Kurdish svillagers and usurpations of their Homes and Properties), might "provide adequate Redress", still fails to solve the problem : F.ex. from 360.000 Applications lodged, only 97.000 werre awarded some damages, after all these Years, and "ECRI is concerned at reports on Shortcomings in the Turkish law, such as  "excessive demands for documents", lack of legal aid ; disparities in compensations awarded ; slow procedures ; lack of effective appeal", etc.
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Roma Minority in Turkey "suffers Discriminations"

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+ ECRI is also "concerned" with the stuation of Roma People in  Turkey, where "official information is still lacking", while NGOs "indicate that Roma are marginalized, suffer discrimination in ..educaton, employment, housing, health and access to public places".

- "School attendance rated of Roma Children remain low, and illiteracy rates High", while, in addition, "Urban renovation projects.... have negatively affected Roma".

-  Turkish Law even provides "for the Expulsion of ...Gypsies "who are "not bound to the Turkish Culture", thereby promoting Discrimnation, ECRI denounced. Turkish Law also "includes "Nomadic Gypsies" among categories of persons Not admssible as Immigrants" !