The European Union expressed its concern about the Turkish efforts to dissolve the Kurdish “democratic peoples” party, to drop the membership of the party’s deputy, Umar Faruk Gırcıolu, and to deprive him of his parliamentary seat.
A European Commission statement said, “The closing of the second largest opposition party violates the rights of millions of voters in Turkey.”
He added that “targeting the opposition in Turkey undermines the credibility of the authorities’ declared commitment to reforms, and it also raises concerns for the European Union about the retreat from basic rights in Turkey.”
He continued: “As a candidate country for membership of the European Union and a member of the Council of Europe, Ankara urgently needs to respect its basic obligations, including respect for democratic foundations, human rights and the rule of law.”
#Turkey: Closing second largest opposition party HDP would violate the rights of millions of voters and undermine the credibility of the Turkish authorities’ stated commitment to reforms. My statement with @JosepBorrellFhttps://t.co/2YiVSbzpuM
— Oliver Varhelyi (@OliverVarhelyi) March 18, 2021
The Turkish parliament had revoked the membership of Çırcıo عضويةlu, after a ruling issued by the Court of Cassation against him last February, on charges of “propagating a terrorist organization.”
As a result, the United States warned the Turkish government against attempts to dissolve the opposition People’s Democratic Party, considering that this would undermine democracy and freedom of expression.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price called on Ankara to “respect freedom of expression in accordance with the protections provided by the constitution and Turkey’s international obligations.”
Source: RT