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An EU delegation on a
fact-finding mission to Turkey has reported a
"worrying" increase in allegations of torture and
abuse in the country.
The European Parliament's human rights committee
members focused mainly on the Kurdish south-east of
the country.
They said they had heard reports of a resurgence of
torture, abductions and beatings by security forces.
Turkey has faced a barrage of criticism from Europe
recently, with human rights a key issue in its bid
to join the EU.
'Going backwards'
The delegation of six MEPs met officials and human
rights groups in the capital and in Istanbul.
They also travelled to the south-east, which has
seen a serious recent upsurge in violence between
the Turkish military and Kurdish separatists.
The group expressed concern about the discrepancies
between cases of human rights abuses recorded by the
authorities and those reported to local human rights
groups.
Committee vice-chairman Richard Howitt highlighted
the resurgence of political violence and the "very
sad pieces of evidence of increased torture", after
years when the use of torture had been declining.
"These are very, very worrying times in Turkey
indeed," he said.
Another member of the delegation, Italian lawmaker
Vittorio Agnoletto, said: "The impression is that
the situation is going backwards." A full report on
the delegation's findings is due to be presented to
European Parliament in a month, although they will
be discussed in a debate within the next two weeks.
A recent report on Turkey's EU accession bid was
highly critical of the pace of human rights reforms.
The committee's comments came as British officials
in Turkey said they were seeking urgent
clarification from the authorities about the
continuing detention of a British artist.
Michael Dickenson was arrested in Istanbul 10 days
ago, accused of insulting the dignity of Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Mr Dickenson had displayed a poster in which he had
superimposed Mr Erdogan's head onto the body of a
dog held on a leash representing the US flag.
BBC
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan".
Others estimate as many as 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan but
unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag is
banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it is
a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
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