Ensar Nur-TR724
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Theodoros Rousopoulos, answered questions from journalists following the Autumn session held in Strasbourg from September 30 to October 4.
PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos met with journalists after the autumn session. Responding to a question from TR724 Strasbourg correspondent Ensar Nur, the President said he had met with both the government and opposition and was aware of human rights violations in Turkey.
While Rousopoulos admitted that the desired results have not yet been achieved, he pointed to members of parliament for more pressure on the Turkish government. The PACE President stated that “no parliamentarian is prevented from speaking out about the violations in Turkey or from proposing resolutions on the matter.”
Here is TR724 correspondent Ensar Nur’s question and PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos’ response:
Ensar Nur: “Mr. President, things on the ground have worsened since the last session [PACE summer session]. Kavala and Demirtaş are still not released. The Yalçınkaya decision, which affects hundreds of thousands of people, has still not been implemented. Moreover, despite the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Kayseri Court reimposed the same sentence on Yüksel Yalçınkaya with fabricated terrorism charges. Also, in recent weeks, there was a scandalous case involving young girls in Turkey. The girls were charged with terrorism simply because they did homework and went to the cinema with friends and were forced to testify against their families.
On Wednesday, over 3,000 people from across Europe gathered just outside the Council of Europe. They asked the Council to speak out and put pressure on Turkey.
People are becoming increasingly hopeless, thinking the Council is not making enough noise. What is your message to these people? And how long will this ‘quiet diplomacy’ with Turkey continue? Because from the outside, it seems no significant result is being achieved. Tuğrul Türkeş is unable to convince his party.”
Theodoros Rousopoulos: “It is true that we have not achieved the results we want, and you are right. Thank you for the question, because it gives me the opportunity to say that this week I have met not only with the head of the Turkish Delegation, Tuğrul Türkeş, but also with representatives from the CHP and DEM Party.
We talked extensively about the situation in Turkey; we discussed the imprisonment of 98 mayors and the situations you mentioned. We are not remaining silent. Whenever there is an opportunity or a resolution, no one is preventing the discussion of this issue.
It is not the first time I have met with opposition leaders. In one of the previous sessions, I hosted the leader of the CHP [Özgür Özel] here, and we talked for more than an hour. I assured him that the Council of Europe and the Court are on their side.
On the other hand, of course, the real pressure must be applied to the government. If the government does not do its best, for example, if it does not implement the decisions of the Strasbourg Court, this is not something for the opposition to decide. We need to put pressure on the government.
I believe we have given them time to make decisions the way we want. And personally, we have never asked any party or parliamentarian to stop asking questions about the problems in Turkey. That is my assurance.
We are not acting as if we are ignoring what is happening. No one is being prevented from openly discussing these issues in the Parliamentary Assembly [PACE] or from submitting a resolution.”
PACE President regularly meets with political party representatives
As the PACE President, Theodoros Rousopoulos frequently meets with political actors. PACE wants to keep the door of dialogue open with Turkey, ensuring that the country returns to the standards set out in the European Convention on Human Rights.
PACE and the Council of Europe do not want to sever ties with Turkey by adopting a tough stance. Expelling Turkey from the Council of Europe would mean completely cutting Ankara’s ties with Europe and ending Turkish citizens’ access to the ECHR and other bodies. Therefore, the Council of Europe, especially PACE, is trying to maintain “quiet diplomacy” with Turkey.
However, the continued increase in human rights violations in recent years and the persistent refusal to implement ECHR rulings are testing the Council of Europe’s limits. Particularly, the failure to release Osman Kavala has become central to the relationship between Turkey and the Council.
In this context, PACE Turkey delegation head Tuğrul Türkeş frequently meets with the PACE President and also voices a different stance on the Kavala issue than the presidential palace in Ankara. However, Türkeş has not been able to convince his party.
Although other ECHR rulings and human rights violations have not yet become the central focus of diplomacy with Turkey, the PACE President is also meeting with other political actors.
In April’s spring session, Rousopoulos met with Özgür Özel in Strasbourg. Aysu Bankoğlu and Selin Sayek Böke accompanied him.
During the autumn session, Rousopoulos hosted the DEM Party delegation led by Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları.
What is PACE?
One of the main organs of the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly meets in Strasbourg four times a year. PACE brings together deputies from the national parliaments of 46 member states. Here, deputies discuss national and global issues concerning member states, especially human rights, adopt decisions, and call on member states to act. Under its founding statute, PACE can:
- Call on the 46 European governments to take action, and states must respond.
- Conduct investigations to uncover new facts about human rights violations.
- Ask any question to Presidents and Prime Ministers.
- Send delegations to observe elections and mediate crises.
- Negotiate the conditions for states joining the Council of Europe.
- Provide opinions and make recommendations on treaties, inspiring new national laws.
- Request legal opinions on member states’ laws and constitutions.
- Recommend the expulsion or suspension of membership for a state and impose sanctions.
Although PACE does not have the power to enact binding laws, it is in constant dialogue with governments, national parliaments, other international organizations, and civil society, setting the agenda.”
