Turkey is trying to bring its laws on refugees into line with Europe’s. In the meantime, refugees and asylum seekers who reach safety in Turkey live in a legal and social wasteland.
(published December 2009)
Several Turkish newspapers called it a disgrace last spring, when in Didim, a town on Turkey’s west coast, 65 people were forced to camp …
It looks like a postcard, Northern Iraq. The mountains, the plains, the colours, the light. But in these mountains the PKK is hiding. And a bit further south, in the middle of such an empty plain, live ten thousand Turkish-Kurdish refugees in a gloomy camp. They want to go back home.
(published with a big beautiful picture of Northern …
Closure of websites intensifies ‘homophobic atmosphere’ in Turkey
ISTANBUL – The closure of several internet forums for gays is another example of homophobia and a new step towards silencing gay organisations in Turkey. That’s the view of spokespersons for huge gay forums that were closed this week on the order of a government organisation.
The sites seem to have been closed because of ‘inappropriate content and immoral actions’, but …
The fight between Kurdish seperatist movement PKK and the Turkish army was at its dirtiest in the nineteen-nineties. Hundreds of (alleged) PKK sympathisers were killed or disappeared without a trace. Who was responsible? It was thought “Jitem”, a secret anti-terrorism unit of the military police. The bodies were dumped in wells, fields and rivers. Now that Turkey is …
The anger of the juvenile judge
For nineteen years, Umran Tan worked as a judge in a Turkish children’s court. She expressed her frustrations about the failures of Turkish juvenile law in a much discussed short film. ‘The Turkish system directs children straight into adult law.’
Umran Tan
Istanbul – A Monday morning in …
“Torture increasing in Turkey”
ISTANBUL – The Turkish Ministry of Justice is opening an investigation into the death of an arrested man who allegedly died after severe torture. Turkish human rights organisations don’t have much confidence in the investigation. They claim the government’s zero tolerance to torture has failed and that it might even have caused a rise in the incidence of torture.
The victim, …
In Tuzla, we don’t work with wool
The shipbuilding business is growing rapidly in Turkey. Especially in Tuzla, south of istanbul, it’s powering ahead. Unfortunately the number of fatal accidents is also on the rise. The employers say: “Accidents are inevitable in this industry. Here in Tuzla we’re not working with wool.”
After her husband died, nobody from his work-place came …
Holland will help Turkey set up refugee centres
KAYSERI – Holland will help Turkey with the setting up of six refugee centres and the training of personnel for the centres. There’s 1.2 million euro’s available for the project, coming from EU funds. Dutch State Secretary of Justice Nebahat Albayrak finalised the details of previous agreements this week during a working visit to Turkey. Turkey chose Holland as a …
“Turkish judges don’t understand the internet”
Once again youtube in Turkey has been blocked. The biggest problem according to many people: Turkish judges don’t understand the internet.
(published in daily newspaper De Pers)
It’s ridiculous, says economy student Hatice, to think you protect Atatürk by banning the whole of youtube because of one insulting video. Turkey closed the popular video website again last week because of a video …
pro-Kurdish party DTP: in the shadow of the PKK
The Turkish pro-Kurdish Party for a Democratic Society (DTP) loses voters to the governing AK Party. No reason for DTP-leader Ahmet Türk to soften his opinions: “Amnesty for PKK fighters must be discussed and the murderers of Kurdish politicians, journalists and human rights activists must be brought to justice.”
The end is near for DTP, the “Party for a Democratic Society”. …
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