TIP: TURKISH MEDIA ATTENTION, MAY 2004

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ANKARA 003048 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, EUR/PGI, EUR/SE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD PREF TU TIP IN TURKEY SUBJECT: TIP: TURKISH MEDIA ATTENTION, MAY 2004 ¶1. (U) In response to G/TIP inquiries about GOT anti-TIP public information, post provides as examples the following TIP press reports published in national and international news media. Text of the articles (originally published in Turkish unless otherwise noted) is provided through unofficial local FSN translation. ¶2. (U) Published Wednesday, June 2, 2004 by the English language Christian Science Monitor: TITLE: 'Radical' shift in Turkey's judiciary In a bid to join the EU, Turkish judges and prosecutors are being trained in the fundamentals of human rights law. By Yigal Schleifer, Christian Science Monitor BEGIN TEXT: ISTANBUL, TURKEY - When a pro-Kurdish politician accused of supporting a terrorist organization was acquitted recently, the verdict made front-page news here. "Radical," was how the daily Milliyet described the case. The nation's State Security Courts (DGMs),tribunals that handle terrorism and political cases, cited European human rights law as the basis of the decision. In doing so, they marked a fundamental shift in the way Turkey's legal system is beginning to operate. "The DGMs Say Hello to Europe," the newspaper's headline read. But the two courts are not the only parts of the judiciary saying "hello" to Europe. Over the past few months, some 9,200 judges and prosecutors have been trained- in the largest program of its kind in Turkey - in the basic foundations of human rights law. It is a massive effort to help the country adopt a model more in line with European standards. The program, a project of the Turkish Ministry of Justice and the European Union, is one of numerous reforms undertaken by Turkey as it continues its bid to join the EU. One of the largest obstacles on the road to Brussels, thus far, has been the spotty human rights record of its criminal justice system. "This [training program] is part of being contemporary. At a certain point you have to respect human rights," says Demet Gural, executive director of the Human Resources Development Foundation. "I wouldn't have imagined 10 years ago that the Ministry of Justice, for example, would be conducting human rights training for its staff." Reforms have ranged from ending the death penalty to loosening the military's control over civil affairs. Hoping to receive a positive answer from the EU this year about when accession negotiations may begin, Turkey has been passing reform packages at a rapid clip. So rapid, in fact, that the terrorism trial against 69 people accused of helping organize the deadly Istanbul bombings last November was stopped as soon as it began in a state security court Monday. The defense argued that the case was not valid, since such DGMs are soon to be replaced with new tribunals more in line with European norms. Organizers of the human rights training program say they are trying to bridge an educational gap that some Turkish jurists may have. "In Turkish law schools, in their old program, there were no courses in human rights," says Ebru Dabbagh, the training program's coordinator. "They learned about human rights as a small part of the penal code or through international law, but they did not learn about it in detail." International standards Haluk Mahmutogullari, a judge who heads the Ministry of Justice's training division, says that although Turkish judges and prosecutors are not unaware of international human rights standards, the practical application of those standards has sometimes failed. "For the last years Turkey has been punished by the European Court of Human Rights quite often," he says, "which meant that we definitely should do something about it and find what we were doing wrong." Looking at such basic principles as property rights, freedom of association, and prohibitions against torture, the program brought European legal experts to Turkey to train a core group of 225 judges and prosecutors who are now in charge of instructing their colleagues. The program is one of several initiated over the past year that have attempted to familiarize Turkish judges, prosecutors, and policemen with international human rights standards. Many experts say these programs reflect a change in how the Turkish state is starting to view international laws and standards. "Turkish judicial circles had always kept a sort of nationalistic approach to international human rights law, but there is a change," says Turgut Tarhanli, director of the Human Rights Law Research Center at Istanbul Bilgi University, which has taken some 60 judges and prosecutors to legal seminars in Sweden and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. "They are now starting to look at cases through a human rights lens," he says. "There are still problems, but a real change has started." Turkey's human rights record, eroded for years by charges of torture, police brutality, and questionable legal proceedings has been shaped by the country's turbulent recent history. State versus individual A 1980 military coup led to a new constitution that enshrined state order over individual rights. During the bloody fight in the 80s and 90s against the militants of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK),Turkey's courts were often used as a weapon in that battle. "In criminal law cases or civil law cases, mainly during the era of struggling against the PKK, the national interests of the state were a priority over the rights of the individual," says Mr. Tarhanli. But Turkey's hopes of joining the EU, as well as pressure from the US and the country's own civil society organizations, have changed the legal landscape. "At the state level there was no way [Turkey] could go on with the old regulations," says Mrs. Gural, whose organization began training jurists and policemen on international human-trafficking laws this year. Human rights activists point out that structural problems still remain, with cases of torture and freedom of expression violations still reported in the country. An EU report last year found that parts of the judiciary still do not always act "in an impartial and consistent manner." Tarhanli says "black holes" still exist in Turkish daily judicial work. Training programs in human rights law are a start, but he says a critical test is for the country's judges and prosecutors to take what they have learned and apply it in the cases that come before them. "The most important thing is to what extent can judges and prosecutors use these international instruments of law in their daily work?" he says. "To what extent can they use the knowledge they got in this training?" END TEXT. ¶3. (U) Published May 18, 2004 in English and Turkish by Anadolu News Agency and circulated in multiple national newspapers. TITLE: TURKEY SIGNS COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH EUROPOL BEGIN TEXT: ANKARA - Turkish Directorate General of Security and the European Law Enforcement Organization (Europol) signed on Tuesday cooperation agreement. In the signing ceremony held in Turkey's capital Ankara, Gokhan Aydiner, the Director General of Security said that security forces should closely follow technological developments, renew and make national and international cooperation in order to fight against crimes and criminals. Aydiner noted that crime gangs were using advanced technology to achieve their intentions and crimes had gone beyond national limits and had international dimensions. Stating that only one country's fight against terrorism and organized crime was not sufficient today, Aydiner said that international cooperation was obligatory. Aydiner said, "Europol is a law enforcement organization which handles criminal intelligence activities of the European Union (EU). Its aim is to improve the effectiveness and co-operation of the competent authorities in the Member States in preventing and combating serious forms of international organized crime." "Its mission is to assist the law enforcement authorities of Member States in their fight against serious forms of organized crime," Aydiner added. Europol Director Juergen Storbeck stressed that cooperation in countering terrorism was very important for EU and world countries. Storbeck said that terrorism was a global threat. Cooperation was necessary to prevent terrorism and capture criminals, Storbeck noted. Storbeck said that countries should also cooperate against illicit drug trafficking, human and arms trafficking, and forgery of valuable documents and credit cards. They had established a database for especially effective fight against drug trafficking, Storbeck pointed out. Touching on new Europol projects, Storbeck hoped that Turkish Directorate General of Security would be included in new Europol projects covering illegal immigration and human trafficking in the East Mediterranean. Storbeck said that Turkish police was exerting professional efforts in fighting against organized crime especially. Stating that Turkish police efforts constituted an example for bilateral cooperation agreements, Storbeck said that Turkey was a cornerstone in the fight against organized crime and criminals. Storbeck noted that they would have the opportunity to join experiences of Turkish police with Europol's facilities under the cooperation agreement. Noting that Turkey was not an EU member country yet, Storbeck said that however, Europol considered Turkey equal to EU member countries in its projects. END TEXT. ¶4. (U) Published in Turkish in the May 10, 2004 edition of Yeni Safak, a Turkish newspaper with nation-wide circulation page 3: BEGIN TEXT: Acting on a tip, Turkish National Police security teams from Istanbul's Foreigners Desk conducted an operation in Istanbul's Beykoz district, detaining a jewelry courier named R.P., who allegedly sold three Moldovan women A.T., V.P., and L.P. In the house, the police found 6 passports belonging to foreign women. It was said that the courier R.P. married V.P., a Moldovan citizen, but recently divorced her, though they continued living together. The two brought women from Moldova promising employment for them, then kept their passports and sold them to men including some businessmen and bureaucrats for 1,500 or 2000 USD. The detainees were sent to the Public Prosecutor. END TEXT. ¶5. (U) Published in English by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty April 22, 2004: TITLE: Central Asia is becoming a major region of origin for human trafficking. BEGIN TEXT: Thousands of young women are either abducted or lured away from the country every year and sold into the sex trade. The problem is of particular concern in Tajikistan, which is still struggling to recover from a five-year civil war that has left many people desperate to find economic prospects abroad. Prague, 22 April 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Madina remembers vividly her ordeal at the hands of a human trafficker. This Tajik single mother was desperate to secure a better life for herself and her two children. Responding to an offer from a man she didn't know, she left Tajikistan with the hope of a respectable job and a good salary. "I was working in a local market [in Tajikistan]. One day a man talked to me and asked about my life. I told him that it was too hard, that I had a lot of problems, that I had two children and not enough money to feed them," she says. "I [am] divorced from my husband. Then he said: 'If you want you can come with me abroad. There are a lot of jobs [there] and I can help you to find one.' I believed what he said and I followed him." Madina says the man promised her she would be able to return home after just two months, and with a huge amount of money. But it soon became clear this was not the case. "We went to Turkey, but he tricked me. He took my documents and sent me to a brothel," she says. "I spent one year in brothels. It was a terrible time for me. I was sick. And when I returned to Tajikistan I had only $200. It was difficult to escape but finally I managed to do so." Madina is not alone. According to the International Office for Migration, some 646 Tajik women were forcibly trafficked by criminal groups from the country in 2002. Their destination is mainly the Persian Gulf, but some go to South Korea, Turkey, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Many leave believing they will find better economic prospects abroad. With an average monthly wage in Tajikistan of just $5, many women are desperate to find a way out of poverty. The actual figure of trafficking victims is difficult to determine. Many victims do not know to whom to turn in crisis situations and are afraid or ashamed of publicizing their cases. Until recently, Tajik authorities largely ignored the issue. But they now admit the existence of the problem and are trying to prevent it. In the country's new Criminal Code, adopted about 1 1/2 years ago, two articles were added addressing human trafficking for the first time. The Tajik parliament is now working on legislation to further strengthen the prohibition against human trafficking. Parliamentarian Sherkhon Salimov describes some of the changes: "We made a few changes to Articles 339 and 340 of the Criminal Code. According to these articles, people involved in preparing forged documents and in using those documents will be punished. We also made changes on several Criminal, Administrative, and Civil codes. Human trafficking is described as a crime punishable with prison terms." Until all these amendments are adopted, human traffickers will remain punishable only under the Criminal Code, which imposes jail terms of some 5-8 years for convicted traffickers. But Tajik Deputy Prosecutor Azizmad Imomov says the laws should be completely reviewed, rather than amended, in order to ensure the country can fight human trafficking efficiently. "Some new articles from the Criminal Code -- which basically dates from the Soviet times -- are not enough to prevent human trafficking, because in the laws, the role of the prosecutors, the court and the police is quite unclear," he said. Meanwhile, the Tajik government is supporting preventive campaigns designed to inform the public -- especially young women -- about the dangers of human trafficking. In particular, the campaigns urge people to be wary of offers of work abroad. Nigida Mamadjonova works for the International Office for Migration (IOM) in the Tajik capital Dushanbe. She says because it is difficult to help women who have already fallen victim to traffickers, preventing further such incidents is crucial. "According to unofficial data, more than 300 Tajik woman and girls have been arrested and imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates for prostitution. We are not involved in releasing them. Preventing them from being involved in this traffic is more important. It's our priority." The IOM has been carrying out countertrafficking information campaigns, spreading the word through television documentaries, talk shows, radio announcements, and the distribution of leaflets. The organization also set up an information center in Dushanbe earlier this year to help migrant laborers be aware of the risks. (Sojida Djakhfarova of RFE/RL's Tajik Service contributed to this report.) END TEXT. EDELMAN