EU reports on Turkey should be fair: Justice minister

By Kemal Karadag

STRASBOURG

Turkey’s justice minister Thursday called on European observers to be “fair, objective and unbiased” when writing and issuing reports on Turkey.

“We are ready to give any kind of help and support to [people writing reports] … But they should be fair, objective and unbiased in all their results,” Bekir Bozdag told a crowd at the opening of the office in Strasbourg -- the seat of the European Parliament -- of the Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD).

Various reports by European Union and Council of Europe institutions have harshly criticized Turkey over measures taken by the government in the wake of last year’s deadly coup attempt. The bloc has called on Turkey to “observe the highest standards in respecting the rule of law and fundamental rights”.

The coup attempt last July against Turkey’s democratically-elected government -- blamed by Ankara on the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen -- left at least 248 martyrs in its wake and some 2,200 others injured.

“If a report which is not relevant to the facts of Turkey has been prepared, whoever’s name is on it will have no standing for us,” Bozdag said.

Some of the reports are even “predictable,” said Bozdag, as, for instance, he could predict what a report prepared by the Venice Commission of Council of Europe would say.

A delegation from the commission visited Turkey last month to speak with Turkish officials about a constitutional change plan that would give wide-ranging executive powers to the president.

On April 16, the public will vote the changes up or down in a referendum.

“If you bring the opposition’s opinion as a report, if the approaches of terrorists are reflected in the reports, it makes little sense to visit Turkey,” Bozdag added.

Imposing “unrealistic assessments” on Turkey, and failing to include Turkish officials’ perspectives in their reports, do not make them “facts,” Bozdag added.

The UETD was founded in 2004 in Germany and now has offices in 26 different European countries.