Turkey’s top diplomat declares Ankara will work with PACE

During a stopover in Strasbourg on his way from London to Turkey, Davutoğlu dropped by the CoE to congratulate the newly elected PACE president, Turkish deputy Mevlüt Çavusoğlu, in person. The Turkish foreign minister said Ankara would lend its complete support to the president, who assumed his post atop the 47-nation European institution amid calls for urgent reform and demands for a major overhaul.

In a number of reports last week, PACE cited Turkey’s lack of compliance with a number of provisions enshrined in European conventions to which Turkey is party and found that the country’s legal norms and practices violated some of the basic principles endorsed by the CoE. This included the treatment of non-Muslim minorities in Turkey as well as non-conformity with the European Social Charter, infringement on media freedoms and less than satisfactory compensation for terror victims.

The heaviest blow came from the legal arm of the CoE, the European Court of Human Rights, which declared Turkey the worst human rights violator in the history of the organization. Turkey topped the list in a number of judgments entered against the country, most stemming from violation of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, specifically the right to a fair trial and court proceedings of a reasonable length.

Davutoğlu stressed that they will take every criticism seriously and will work with the CoE to improve democracy and the rule of law in Turkey. “If criticisms are warranted, we will work hard to correct these. We know there are urgent steps we need to take in our country. If, however, some of these criticisms are not justified, we will post appropriate explanations in our defense,” he said, signaling that Turkey is willing to work with the council and do whatever is necessary to bring the country in line with democratic principles so long as unjust bashing of Ankara does not occur.

Davutoğlu also pointed out that the CoE should recognize and appreciate the tremendous progress Turkey has made so far. “We have embarked on significant reforms since 2003, and hence one should also look at the process,” he added. In fact, Turkey was on the Monitoring Committee’s watch list until 2004.

“The fact the a Turkish deputy was elected by a large majority of the PACE deputies in an uncontested competition shows how far we have come,” Davutoğlu explained, recalling times when Turkish deputies were left alone in the assembly proceedings during which only Turks had casted votes in the interest of Turkey. “It is no longer the case now,” the minister underlined.

Turkey is set to assume chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, the executive arm of the CoE, in November 2010 for a duration of sixth months. The top Turkish diplomat signaled that Turkey will seize the moment in gearing up toward enhancing the status of the CoE and will throw its muscle behind efforts to garner support from other member states to reform the organization into a more efficient and effective body.

CoE issues commemorative stamp for Çavuşoğlu

The Council of Europe has issued a commemorative stamp and envelope for the new president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Turkish deputy Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. From time to time, the council issues stamps to honor prominent heads of state and government who deliver speeches to the assembly as well as for new secretary-generals and presidents. The council issued similar stamps for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdullah Gül, who both paid visits to the organization. Çavuşoğlu was elected president of PACE a week ago after securing a position as the only candidate in an uncontested election. He has become the first Turk to hold this position in the 60 years the council’s existence although Turkey was one of the founding members of the 47-member European institution in 1949.