A Report from Helsinki Watch: Human Rights in Turkey
Helsinki Watch Committee
Compte d’auteur
"I’m someone who stands on her own two feet. I have a Western mind, my views are more international than most, and, if _I feel this way, just imagine how the rest of the people, feel...I love General Evren. He saved my country. I shall vote for him."
This conversation took place over drinks in New York's Algonquin Hotel, shortly before my departure for Turkey. The person with whom I was speaking, a successful Turkish businesswoman who divides her time between New York and Istanbul, had tears in her eyes as she described the violence and near-anarchy that existed in Turkey prior to the 1980 military coup. I was moved by her description of what it was like to live under siege with 20 or 30 political ...
Helsinki Watch Committee
The U.S. Helsinki Watch Committee was founded in 1979 to monitor domestic and international compliance with the human rights provisions of the 1975 Helsinki accords. Its Chairman is Robert L. Bernstein; its Vice-Chairmen are Orville H. Schell and Aryeh Neier; its Executive Director is Jeri Laber; its Washington Representative is Holly J. Burkhalter.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments / 2
Introduction / 3
I. Abuse of Individuals and Their Rights / 9
A. Arrest and Detention / 10
B. Torture / 14
C. Freedom of Expression / 24
D. Cultural Rights of Minorities / 27
II. Destruction of Independent Institutions / 32
A. Political Parties / 34
B. Trade Unions / 36
C. The Universities and Schools / 40
D. The Turkish Peace Association / 46
E. The Bar Association and The Right To Counsel / 50
F. The Turkish Writers Union / 52
G. The Press / 53
III. The Legal Basis for Repression / 62
A. The 1983 Elections / 63
B. The 1982 Constitution / 70
C. The Penal Code and the Martial Law Decrees / 79
IV. The U.S. Role in Turkey / 83
Sources / 101
Appendix A: Cable from Robert Strausz-Hupe,
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey / 103
Appendix B: Appeals from the Parents of Prisoners (will be included in bound version)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This report is partially based on information gathered by Roland Algrant, Helsinki Watch Executive Committee member, and Jeri Laber, Helsinki Watch Executive Director, during a fact-finding visit to Turkey in late September 1983.
Helsinki Watch gratefully acknowledges the research and writing assistance of Deborah Gieringer in the preparation of this report.
Introduction
by Jeri Laber
"I’m someone who stands on her own two feet. I have a Western mind, my views are more international than most, and, if _I feel this way, just imagine how the rest of the people, feel...I love General Evren. He saved my country. I shall vote for him."
This conversation took place over drinks in New York's Algonquin Hotel, shortly before my departure for Turkey. The person with whom I was speaking, a successful Turkish businesswoman who divides her time between New York and Istanbul, had tears in her eyes as she described the violence and near-anarchy that existed in Turkey prior to the 1980 military coup. I was moved by her description of what it was like to live under siege with 20 or 30 political assassinations a day, worrying about whether the children would get home safely, barricading oneself indoors before it became dark. I was to hear many more such tales in Turkey, both from supporters and from detractors of the current regime; they talked about bombings of homes and offices, death threats to innocent people and blackmail at gunpoint by terrorists demanding money for some "cause."
The Reagan Administration is right when it points out that the pre-coup violence in Turkey was untenable, not only for Turkish citizens but for the U.S. government which has made Turkey the third largest recipient of U.S. military and economic aid. It is wrong, however, to use the pre-1980 violence to justify unqualified U.S. support for General Evren and the military junta that seized power in the coup. The replacement of anarchic terrorism with state-imposed terror will not give Turkey the stability that the U.S. government- seeks to ensure.
The tens of thousands of young people incarcerated in- Turkish prisons since the coup are probably not all guilty of violence, and, even if they were, there is no justification for the premeditated atrocities to which they have been and are still being subjected. Moreover, Turkish authorities are systematically destroying the independent institutions in Turkey that would provide the basis for a pluralistic society in any eventual democracy. Traditional political parties, universities, trade unions, bar associations, the Turkish Writers Union, the press and a number 'of other previously autonomous bodies essential to the protection of human rights have been banned or are being brought under Centralized control. Their leaders have been dismissed, imprisoned or driven underground. The destruction of these centers of independent thought and action lays the groundwork for totalitarianism in Turkey, rather than for a "transition to democracy."
Certain unresolved questions remain concerning the …
Helsinki Watch
A Report from Helsinki Watch
Human Rights in Turkey's "Transition to Democracy”
Compte d’auteur
Compte d’auteur
A Report from Helsinki Watch
Human Rights in Turkey's "Transition to Democracy”
Helsinki Watch Committee
November 3, 1983
36 West 44th Street
New York. NY 10036
(212) 840-9460
Human Rights in Turkey's "Transition To Democracy"
A Helsinki Watch Report
36 West 44th Street New York, NY 10036 (212) 840-9460
712 "G" Street, S.E. Washington, DC 20003 (202) 546-9336
© 1983 by the U.S. Helsinki Watch Committee All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Helsinki Watch Committee
The U.S. Helsinki Watch Committee was founded in 1979 to monitor domestic and international compliance with the human rights provisions of the 1975 Helsinki accords. Its Chairman is Robert L. Bernstein; its Vice-Chairmen are Orville H. Schell and Aryeh Neier; its Executive Director is Jeri Laber; its Washington Representative is Holly J. Burkhalter.
Bound copies are available for $6.00 each.
