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Strasbourg, 28.05.2009 – The Council of Europe's Committee for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (CPT) has published today the report on its visit to Turkey, carried out in November/December 2006, together with the response of the Turkish Government. Both documents have been made public at the request of the Turkish authorities.

Post-independence Kosovo lacks effective international protection for minorities, which is worsening the situation for smaller minorities and forcing some to leave the country for good, an international human rights organisation warns in a new report.

Minority Rights Group International says in a report released on 27 May that many smaller minorities, such as Ashkali, Bosniaks, Croats, Egyptians, Gorani, Roma, Serbs and Turks, are beginning to leave Kosovo, because they face exclusion and many instances of discrimination in the country. “Restriction of movement and political, social and economic exclusion are particularly experienced by smaller minorities,” says Mark Lattimer, MRG’s Executive Director.

Orhan Kemal CENGİZ

The Ergenekon case, whose success is vital for Turkish democracy, has been attacked from every angle by all sorts of actors.

However, there is one political actor who causes the most harm, but in a very subtle yet effective way; its impact is tremendous. You might be surprised, because I am talking about none other than the Kurdish political movement in this country.

A new Amnesty International campaign to give a voice to people living in deprivation will empower "prisoners of poverty" as previous campaigns empowered prisoners of conscience, says Amnesty International’s Secretary General Irene Khan.

Irene Khan unveiled the Demand Dignity campaign at the launch of Amnesty International's annual report on the state of the world's human rights, which warns that the world is sitting on a "time bomb" fuelled by an unfolding human rights crisis.

‘The Ergenekon case is a sort of revolution for Turkey. We named schools and streets after Kenan Evren. We celebrated May 27 like a festival. There are still some who consider May 27 a modernist revolution against reactionaryism. In fact, judging coup plotters is a revolution in a country like ours. The diaries tell how deeply the Ergenekon mindset is rooted and how the system functions. It sheds light on why we have been living under military guardianship for so long’

Orhan Kemal CENGİZ

Father Andrea Santoro, a Catholic priest, was killed in Trabzon in 2006. No one realized then that this was the beginning of a pattern. The militant nationalist who killed Santoro was just 17 years old. The Santoro case was completed with lightning speed. 

HRRA: Press Statement

TR 002/ 2008- We Want Justice not Revenge!

25 March 2008

We Want Justice not Revenge

Turkey has been passing a tough test in terms of democracy and human rights’ applications for long years. Although there are some positive progressions in the scope of EU’s adjustment law, there is still an ongoing breach circle that cannot be accepted in terms of democracy and human rights. Reforms accepted in the face of legal could not be carried out in the progression. The government’s bureaucracy has a great resistance against carrying out all those accepted reforms. This resistance is strengthened by law, legislation and circular letter that make all those reforms almost inefficient. It is leaded to many human rights breaches by stopping all those reforms completely,

HRAA: Hate Crimes

TR004/2009

May 2009

Crimes of Hatred are Nurtured by Discrimination!

It is alleged that sociologist Ali Bulaç argued that “the mass killings that have taken place in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq have been carried out by homosexual soldiers” in a CNN Turk program “Reha Muhtar’la Çok Farklı” last Monday. Moreover, in the same program the statements of Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertuğrul Günay regarding Zeki Müren and Bülent Ersoy were discussed and it was understood that these ideas were the manifestations of the Minister’s subconscious.

 Orhan Kemal CENGİZ

İzmir is the third biggest city in Turkey. Its natives often believe that it is the most modern, Westernized part of the country. Yet, I have been thinking on this “modernity” aspect of the city for a long time, and have come to the conclusion that it is one of the biggest Turkish myths.

Orhan Kemal CENGİZ

I am a human rights defender. When people start to use human rights terminology, I always like it. Even if the most irrelevant people use human rights rhetoric, I become very happy. Because my experience has shown me that “human rights” is a kind of “virus.”