COUNCIL OF Brussels, 15 April 2002 (05.06) THE EUROPEAN UNION (OR. nl) 7838/02 CIREA 24 NOTE from : Netherlands delegation to : CIREA Subject : Official general report on Turkey (January 2002) Delegations will find attached the above report from the Netherlands delegation 1. 1 Translated into English only. This document may be released to the public. 7838/02 ers/LG/dot 1 DG H I EN Official general report on Turkey 7838/02 ers/LG/dot 2 DG H I EN Contents Page 1 Introduction............................................................................................................................ 5 2 Country information.............................................................................................................. 7 2.1 Basic details ............................................................................................................................. 7 2.1.1 Country and peoople................................................................................................................ 7 2.1.2 History ................................................................................................................................... 8 2.2 System of goverment ............................................................................................................... 14 2.2.1 Legislature ............................................................................................................................... 14 2.2.2 Executive ................................................................................................................................. 17 2.2.3 Judiciary................................................................................................................................... 22 2.2.4 National Security Council........................................................................................................ 25 2.3 Political developments............................................................................................................. 27 2.3.1 Economic crisis........................................................................................................................ 27 2.3.2 Prison conditions...................................................................................................................... 29 2.3.3 Fazilet Partisi ban..................................................................................................................... 36 2.3.4 Constitutional amendments...................................................................................................... 39 2.4 Security situation..................................................................................................................... 41 2.4.1 Conflict with the PKK ............................................................................................................. 42 2.4.2 Hezbollah and other pro-Islamic groups.................................................................................. 44 2.4.3 Marxist-Leninist groups........................................................................................................... 48 2.4.4 State of emergency................................................................................................................... 53 2.5 Social and economic developments......................................................................................... 54 2.6 Summation............................................................................................................................... 57 3 Human rights.......................................................................................................................... 59 3.1 Legal background .................................................................................................................... 59 3.1.1 Conventions ............................................................................................................................. 59 3.1.2 National legislation.................................................................................................................. 62 3.2 Monitoring ............................................................................................................................... 63 3.2.1 Government ............................................................................................................................. 63 3.2.2 Turkish NGOs.......................................................................................................................... 69 3.2.3 International ............................................................................................................................. 73 3.3 Observance and violations....................................................................................................... 75 3.3.1 Freedom of expression............................................................................................................. 75 3.3.2 Freedom of association and assembly ..................................................................................... 79 3.3.3 Freedom of religion ................................................................................................................. 88 3.3.4 Freedom of movement ............................................................................................................. 100 3.3.5 Judicial process........................................................................................................................ 102 3.3.6 Arrest and detention................................................................................................................. 104 3.3.7 Ill-treatment and torture........................................................................................................... 110 3.3.8 Disappearances ........................................................................................................................ 118 3.3.9 Extra-judicial executions ......................................................................................................... 120 3.3.10 Death penalty ........................................................................................................................... 122 7838/02 ers/LG/dot 3 DG H I EN 3.4 Position of specific groups....................................................................................................... 124 3.4.1 The Kurds................................................................................................................................ 124 3.4.2 Members of PKK and left-wing or Islamist military groups ................................................... 129 3.4.3 Persons engaging in marginal activities on behalf the PKK and left-wing or Islamist military groups........................................................................................................... 130 3.4.4 HADEP members and sympathisers........................................................................................ 131 3.4.5 Relatives of members of the PKK or of left-wing or Islamist militant groups........................ 135 3.4.6 Relatives of HADEP members ................................................................................................ 136 3.4.7 Village guards .......................................................................................................................... 136 3.4.8 Women ................................................................................................................................... 138 3.4.9 Homosexuals, transvestites and transsexuals........................................................................... 140 3.4.10 Conscripts ................................................................................................................................ 143 3.4.11 Returned asylum seekers ......................................................................................................... 144 3.4.12 Summation............................................................................................................................... 146 4 Migration ................................................................................................................................ 149 4.1 Intake of internally displaced persons ..................................................................................... 149 4.2 Minors ................................................................................................................................... 152 4.3 UNHCR policy ........................................................................................................................ 154 4.4 Policy of other European countries.......................................................................................... 156 4.5 Summation............................................................................................................................... 157 5 Summation.............................................................................................................................. 158 Annex I: List of Christian minorities ................................................................................................. 160 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................... 168 7838/02 ers/LG/dot 4 DG H I EN 1. Introduction This official general report considers the present situation in Turkey in so far as is