MEPs postpone Mediterranean policy vote as Revolts reach Syria + Turkey is slamed on Kurds + Cyprus

*Brussels/Angelo Marcopolo/- Surprisingly but wisely, EU Parliament's Plenary voted to postpone an initialy scheduled topical debate on Mediterranean and Neighbourhood Policy, amidst rapidly changing developments, including Popular Revolts reaching Syria, while bordering Turkey was strongly criticized by CoE to "Destroy" Democracy in Kurdish Regions, while Turkish Cypriot dissident Demonstrations continue in Cyprus' Territories occupied by Ankara's Military, expressing fears even about their "existence", as denounced a T/C Politician to "EuroFora" at an intercommunal Brussels' meeting which brought together Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots aspiring for a Democratic ReUnification of the island, instead of the Division that Turkey traditionaly searches to impose.
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Wednesday's EU Parliament's surprising, last minute decision, just after this week-end's launch of the EU/USA/Arab Ligue/UNO operation "to help the 'Libyan People", (See "EuroFora"s NewsReport from Elysée palace during Paris' Summit), to postpone an initially scheduled Debate on 3rd Mediterranean Countries and Neighbourhood policy, send the topical issue to Strasbourg's Next Plenary, at the beginning of April.

Meanwhile, the Mediterranean "Wind for Democracy" had blown from Tunis Egypt and Libya, towards Syria, at Turkey's borders :     

Spreading from the South to the North of Syria, demonstrations, arrests, violent clashes with Police, making a growing number of Wounded and Killed People this week, made EU's High Representative Cathy Ashton to officially express her "Deep Concern" and "sharp Condemnation", launching on Thursday Morning, just before the beginning of EU's Heads of State/Governments' Summit in Brussels, a "Call" to the Syrian Leadership" for change :

- Ashton denounced, in particular, "the increasing number of Persons Killed and Demonstrators arrested" in Syria, as well as "the use of Ammunition and Excessive Force against Peaceful Demonstrators", which "must cease immediately", as she stressed.

- Calling for "the immediate Release of all Persons Arrested during the Demonstations" throughout the country recently, Cathy Ashton "reiterated EU's call on the Syrian Authorities to uphold the Right to Peaceful Assembly, and to abide by International standards calling for the use of Non-Violent means by Law-Enforcement officials".

- "The leadership of Syria must meet the Legitimate grievances and aspirations of the People calling for Political and Socio-Economic Reforms, the End of the State of Emergency, and the Release of all Political Prisoners and Human Rights' Defenders", EU's High Representative concluded, even without great illusions to be immediately heard by Syrian President Assad junior..., particularly when he sees the blatant counter-example of his Neighbour, Turkey, which notoriously persists into Oppressing and Muzzling Critical Journalists, Arresting and Jailing Political Dissidents, persisting in a scandalous impunity of Tortioners, and Violently opposing Demonstrations and other collective moves by various dissidents, particularly in the sensitive Kurdish areas close to the Syrian borders, (Comp. earlier and subsequent "EuroFora"s relevant NewsReports)...
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+ Meanwhile, it's also in the Occupied Territories of Cyprus, held by Ankara's Military since the 1974 Invasion, that even Turkish Cypriots recently started to organize Massive Demonstrations to protest against Ankara's restrictive policies, provoking Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's fury recently by their call "Ankara : Hands off Cyprus !", etc, as well as reported Death Threats and Bullets shot against Dissident Turkish Cypriot Newspaper "Afrika", but continuing fearlessly their movements also on next April, during EU Parliament's forthcoming weekly session in Strasbourg.

Turkish Cypriot dissidents, from Trade Unions, Political Parties, etc., were, together with their homologues from the Greek Cypriot community, this week at EU Parliament in Brussels, invited by EuroMPs as Takis Hadjigeorgiou (See recent statements to "EuroFora", given earlier in Strasbourg), and welcomed by EU Culture/Education Commissioner Androula Vassiliou from Cyprus on the occasion of an Exhibition of Historic Photographs showing common struggles of Greek and Turkish Cypriots fighting together for various Socio-Political issues.

- The Secretary General of PEO, the largest Trade Union in Cyprus, Pambis Kyritses, speaking to "EuroFora", reminded that, already since the Historic Murder of "Kavazoglu and Mesiaules", there are "many common activities, Cultural Events, Social Mobilizations, etc, and pointed also at the presence in Brussels of friendly T/C Trade Unionists, such as T/C Teachers' Trade Union's (KTOS) head Sener Elcil, etc.

The events were organized on the occasion of an official visit of the New Secretary General of the Governing Party (of President Christofias) AKEL, MP Andros Kyprianou, (a former CoE's MEP in Strasbourg), who met now in Brussels with EU Commission's President Jose Barroso and other Top EU Officials.

    - Speaking later at EU Parliament to "EuroFora", AKEL's Chief stressed that an annual event organized by the Governing Party each year had, this time (on 2011) focused, precisely, "into highligting common efforts and fights, by Greek and Turkish Cypriots, both in Social and Political issues, including, today, for the ReUnification of Cyprus". That's why we have invited several representatives of all Cypriots from the Civil Society of the island; such as Artists and Teachers, Trade Unionists, Politicians, etc, Andros Kyprianou told us, pointing, f.ex. to Izzet Izcan, Secretary General of the "United Cyprus" Party, (Birlesik Kibris partisi), and other Turkish Cypriots among a lot of invitees.

- Andros Kyprianou, speaking to "EuroFora", didn't exclude the eventuality for the current Mediterranan "Wind for Democratisation"  to reach also Turkey, after Tunisia, Egypt, Lybia, Syria, etc., but observed, nevertheless, that - "The situation is not the same".. I. e. obviously hinting mainly at the fact that the large Majority of the original Inhabitants of the Northern, Occupied Territories of Cyprus, have been notoriously forced to flee from their Family Homes and Ancestral Land, becoming Refugees/Displaced persons, since the 1974 Invasion and persisting Occupation by Ankara's Military, which still hinders their return,  despite many Condemnations by ECHR for such Massive Violations of Greek Cypriot Refugees/IDP's Human Rights, while many Turkish Cypriots have been pushed to emigrate and/or are marginalized by incoming Settlers from mainland Turkey. (I.e. something synonymous to a "War Crime" committed by an Occupying Power, acccording to the statute of the International Criminal Court... )

- AKEL's Chief launched a call for "our Turkish Cypriot compatriots to give Together this Struggle for the ReUnification of our Country", making it a Strategic "Bridge of Peace between the People" of the Eastern Mediterranean "and the EU".  For that purpose, Andros Kyprianou praised the "Tree which is deeply rooted in the Heart and the Conscience of progressive Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots", reminding us of "our common struggles for Social Justice and against Foreign Interventions and illegal Exploitation of our Land", against Crimes committed by some extremists, sauvinists and nationalists guided by Foreigners, bringing military invasion, forced division and still persisting occupation by Turkey, whose Prime Minister, Erdogan, recently  admitted that Ankara holds the northern territories of Cyprus "for its own Interests", and not for those of Turkish Cypriots, as  he noted.

Today, in order to succeed a Solution to Cyprus issue, which will guarantee all EU's Fundamental Freedoms for all the People of Cyprus, another Common Struggle of Greek and Turkish Cypriots is needed", he pointed out. "After the recent Massive reactions of our Turkish Cypriot Compatriots against the difficult Economic Situation which was provoked also by the Military presence of Turkey", raising, at least from a part of demostrators, also some crystal-clear aspiration on Cyprus' issue, against a restrictive economic policy imposed by Ankara's regime, which searches to control even the air Turkish Cypriots breathe, while also persisting to import Turkish Settlers who threaten to alter the island's Demographic stucture and provoke an explosive situation, as he characteristically said.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              ----------------------    

Meanwhile, T/C. dissident politician, Izzet Izcan, Head of the "United Cyprus" Party, (Birlesik Kibris partisi), speaking to "EuroFora", remembered that had met earlier, back on 2003, when a Tree for the reUnification of Cyprus was implanted, at the invitation of the then former CoE's Secretary General, Walter Schwimmer, by representatives of all Cyprus' Political Parties, both Greek and Turkish Cypriots : - "Yes, I was in Strasbourg", at the CoE, : - "How is going that Tree in Strasbourg ?" Izcan asked us..

- But, now, "Nothing is moving", towards Cyprus' ReUnification, sharply denounced the experienced Izcan to "EuroFora"s questions on how are going the prospects for a political agreement with the new leader of the Turkish Cypriot Community in the territories occupied by Ankara's army, Dervis Eroglou ...  

- I believe that currently Ankara isn't really ready for a Cyprus' reunification, which doesn't seem to be in Turley's "Agenda".

- "It seems that Turkey is playing games as well" with the EU, the experienced Izcan acknowledged, in reply to "EuroFora"s question if he believes that Turkey is really sincere about its controversial and unpopular EU bid, or if it uses that claim as a Pretext in order to press EU for other Political and/or Financial Concessions elsewhere, and in order to find an excuse to practically block Cyprus' reUnification, etc.    -"The Deep State in Turkey doesn't want EU Accession, that's for sure. But a Majority of People seem to wish a Democratisation, etc. Our Position is that Turkey should comply with EU Acquis, EU Regulations, etc. But at the end of Negotiations, if it really complies, it should accede. However, the EU - Turkey Negotiations are currently in "Deadlock". Main EU Countries as France and Germany don't want Ankara inside the EU, while Turkey is also "heading towards Asia", etc., he observed.

- Meanwhile, Izcan appeared much more anxious about the "Existence" of the authentic Turkish Cypriot Community as such, considering mainly the persisting massive influx of Settlers from mainland Turkey, which notoriously risks to outnumber and/or marginalize them, by provoking a "Demographic Alteration" of the Occupied Territories of Cyprus, already denounced twice by the CoE. This risks to become the "End of the Turkish Cypriot Community", which has become a "Hostage" of such "Games", because the Number of Settlers is increasing, accelerating and we are becoming a Minority" even inside the Occupied Territories, he denounced.

+ Izcan also agreed that it was "Strange" and "not normal" that, even after an ECHR's condemnation of Turkey, back on 2005, for blatantly failing to do any efficient Investigation on the 1997 cold-blood Murder of Dissident T/C Journalist Kutlu Adali, (killed with 5 bullets outside of his Family Home, in the Occupied Territories), on the contrary, Ankara apparently escaped from any COE Sanction or pressure after the issue was taken off CoE's Committee of Ministers Agenda, by a controversial decision immediately after Turkey assumed its Chairmanship, last June 2010 (See relevant "EuroFora"s NewsReport). The experienced Turkish Cypriot politician didn't exclude that this might be eventually due to some "Pressure" or threats, etc, perhaps exerted upon the murdered Journalist's Wife, Ilkay Adali, and or Daughter, similar to other such attempts of intimidation that they had denounced in the Past, and/or any other interference in an issue which, in fact, concerned all the Turkish Cypriot Community, particularly also after recent Murders  of dissident Journalists in Turkey (f.ex. Hrant Dink in 2007, etc), and/or Death Threats against living Turkish Cypriot dissident journalists, (f.ex. bullets fired against the Door of Sener Levent, of "Afrika" dissident Newspaper in the Occupied Territories of Cyprus), etc.

- Thus, Izcan spontaneously lauphed when "EuroFora" noted the strange attitude of some lobbies, which, instead of wishing for Turkey to really change for the better, now that Democratic aspirations seem to shake all 3rd Countries' old rigid regimes throughout all the Mediterranean, on the contrary, claim to .. impose a so-called "Turkish model" over the revolted Arab People's will : - "Turkey is only the kind of so-called pseudo-"Democracy" that some Americans would like to impose in the Mediterranean. But Not according to European standards, nor to People's really Democratic aspirations, critically stressed the experienced Turkish Cypriot politician to "EuroFora".
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Only .. Blind people might, indeed, be manipulated to adopt such a grossly erroneous view on Turkey, as topically reminds the ... Libyan Colonel "Kaddafi's Human Rights Prize, that was attributed to Turkish Prime Minister Tayip Erdogan who recently visited Tripoli for the award, end November 2010...
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Practically responding to the results of 2009 Local/Regional Elections by ....arresting and putting to Jail most Elected pro-Kurdish Representatives until now (2011), the Turkish State's attitude had a "disproportionately DESTRUCTIVE effect on... Democracy", CoE's watchdog on Local/Regional level : CLRAE, strongly denounced, by adopting an official Recommendation on Turkey this Thursday morning in Strasbourg, as Officials confirmed to "EuroFora", (See infra).

+ Moreover, during almost 15 Years : from 1997 up to 2011, the Turkish Government has been largely ignoring CoE's main Recommendations on the need for Democratic Reforms at least on the Regional/Local level in Kurdish areas of the country, CLRAE critically observed. F.ex., "No Steps have been taken to implement Congress Recommendation 229 (2007), ..to permit municipal councils to use Languages other than Turkish in the provision of public services when appropriate, and ...to allow Mayors and municipal councils to take “political” Decisions without fear of proceedings being taken against them", contrary to a CoE's demand for "Cultural Autonomy" of the mainly Kurdish regions since a 1997 Resolution. And a recent Law ..."has left Municipalities even More heavily Dependent upon Centrally determined Grants and introduced new Financial disciplines", while "Provincial Administrations still have No access to any “own Resources” for their funding". Moreover, still "the Autonomy of Provincial government is put into question in a situation where (its) Chief executive is...  an Appointee of the Central Government". Indeed, Ankara's Government never abolished main "Obstacles" to Local/Regional Democracy, which had been denounced by CLRAE since 1997, such as the imposition of an "Administrative Tutelage.. maintained in Article 127 of the Turkish Constitution", the 2011 CoE's text criticizes.

- Surprisingly, it's since the .. Begining of EU - Turkey Negotiations, i.e. as early as since "2005" that Reforms were "Reduced" and "Slowed" by Ankara, an official Recommendation adopted Thursday morning by CLRAE's Plenary observes from the outset, while CLRAE's Rapporteurs denounce ..."5 Years of Reduced actiity" (2005-2010), i.e. practically all the period of controversial and unpopular EU - Turkey Negotiations !...     
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Between 2008 and 2010, two of CLRAE's most experienced Members : Its vice-President Anders Knape, a Swedish ChristianDemocrat, and its Institutional Committee's Chairman, the Austrian Herwig Van Staa (former President of the CLRAE), visited 3 times Turkey, accompanied by Legal Experts, and concluded in 2011 by a critical Report noting "with Regret" many "Problems in the functioning of ... Democracy in Turkey" :             

- Most important, a "DESTRUCTIVE Effect on ..; Democracy in Turkey and (on) the Human Rights of ... Elected Representatives" of the People, is the "Disproportionate" "way that the existing Criminal and Anti-Terrorism Legislation is being implemented" in real practice, the official Recommendation adopted by CLRAE denounces.     

In their Report, the two mainstream CLRAE's Officials, Presidents Knape and Van Staa, critically observe, f.ex., among others, also that : "In December 2009 the Kurdish political party known as the DTP was Closed down", and "two of (the) most prominent members ....along with 35 other ..members (of) a successor party, the BDP, ...were Banned from participation in politics for a period of 5 Years", (i.e. almost up to 2015)...

- Immediately after "the Elections of 2009 (largely won by pro-Kurdish Elected Representatives in the South-East areas), ... Substantial Numbers of People have been Detained in Prison", in 3 Massive "Waves of Arrests (which) took place in April, September, and December 2009", they denounce. "In Total, some 1,500 People are now (still in 2011) being held in Detention", even "without charge or trial" !

- Among those Detained People (for 2 Years in Prison, without even Trial), "8 are current Mayors of municipalities, 9 are former Mayors, 39 are Municipal Councillors, and 12 are SPA Councillors. In addition ...there have also been some high profile Prosecutions ...affecting Prominent local Politicians", such as "the Mayor of Diyarbakır, Osman Baydemir, and the Mayor of Batman, Nejdet Atalay, ..both sentenced to 10 Months imprisonment" and "Banned (from) foreign travel", (etc).         

- "The Huge Number of Pre-trial Detentions" has an "Effect ..on ..the Democratic system", whose "extent", "is difficult to overstate", CoE's Rapporteurs observe. "The Loss of this Large Number of Elected Officials and others", inevitably "raises .. Concerns" and has "Consequences for .. Democracy". In particular to the detriment of "the local and regional Democracy in South Eastern Turkey", (i.e. on the mainly Kurdish areas), which is a "significant Casualty" of that situation, they warn.
=> "Measured by general European standards", "the Effect on Elected officials and on the institutions of Democracy" in Turkey,  is "disproportionately Destructive", CLRAE's Rapporteurs conclude.  

+ "2009-2010 has also been a Period during which a High level of Violence in the South East of the country has recurred", Knape and Van Staa observe, without taking sides, and ommitting to estimate the Number of Victims Wounded and/or Killed recently in Turkey, since Ankara's "Government Officials" reportedly complained that CLRAE's Rapporteurs would "not have the (Legal) powers or capacity to Investigate and Report generally" on such issues, which are "matter for separate Institutions", such as "Prosecutors, Judges", Security forces, etc.

But, more largely, "over Half (+ 50%) of Turkey’s Prison Population of nearly 120,000, are Unconvicted remand Prisoners", and, "consequently",  "the (Turkish) Prison and Court systems" are "Overloaded", "producing a situation which has a Disproportionately OPPRESSIVE effect on ...those held as (simple) Suspects", they denounce, as far as Human Rights in general are concerned in Turkey, taking into account ECHR's and other "independent" CoE's monitoring bodies' recent findings
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      - "In any event", "there is ... a .. shared consensus that rapid institutional Change in Turkey will, ...always (sic !) be Difficult", because "a Conservative political class and Bureaucracy", and "the social, political and cultural inheritance of the founding principles of the (Turkish) Republic which place such a heavy emphasis (reinforced in the 1982 Constitution [imposed by the Turkish Military]) on a unitary and indivisible State, make the pursuit of decentralisation and ...regional and local self-government very difficult", observe CLRAE's Rapporteurs : Indeed, "those who oppose reform ...readily point out the potential Dangers of reforms which might have a Domino Effect in ... Dismantling of the (Turkish) State", which has less than 1 Century of existence since its establishment after the Armenian and Smyrne Genocides of 1915-1923 which artificially stopped the on-going Dissolution of the former Ottoman-Turc Empire, with apparently too unstable brakes...

    Curiously,  CLRAE's Debate on the "destructive" "problems" faced by Local/Regional Democracy in Turkey is the only one to be excluded from the Publication of Video-records which exist, on the contrary, for all other CLRAE Debates this week in Strassbourg, "EuroFora" found...