Blocking democracy

Turkish laws relating to elections appear to go out of their way to ensure that Kurdish citizens are not represented in the national assembly.

The forthcoming Turkish elections, due to take place on Sunday, have been called as a result of the political deadlock in the parliament whilst trying (and failing) to elect a new president. Whilst the three main parties battle it out for control over the government, there is one issue on which they all agree: the repression of the Kurdish people living in Turkey.

Turkish laws relating to elections appear to go out of their way to ensure that Kurdish citizens are not represented in the Turkish national assembly. These arbitrary laws are not only in violation of certain international conventions which Turkey is a party to, but also violates the European convention on human rights (ECHR). Yet nothing is being done to change these rules before the upcoming elections.

The Kurdish people have suffered a long history of attempted ethnic cleansing and human rights abuses. Since approximately 1000 BCE the area now known as Kurdistan has been host to bloodshed, turmoil and occupation. Tribalism, empires, and feuds have been ongoing, and today the region is divided amongst Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey.

The indigenous peoples have long since fled to mountainous areas in an attempt to protect themselves and their descendants from being wiped out. The Kurds in Turkey face discrimination and human rights abuses. The region where they live has been labelled as a high security zone, and security forces are regular visitors in Kurdish villages. The military has made it clear that it wishes to enter the Kurdish region in Iraq in order to find militant Kurds who they believe have fled there. The main opposition party and the ultra-nationalist party have made it clear that it wishes for a hard-line approach to be taken in this region. None of this is very promising for the Kurds or their plight.

The fact that the Kurds are denied, or at least hampered from having, representation in the Turkish government means that their voice is not heard on these issues, which relate directly to them. One restriction placed in the elections is that in order for a party to gain seats in the government, the party must have candidates standing in at least half of the Turkish provinces. This requirement is backed up by the further need for a party to gain 10% of the national vote in order for its elected representatives to be able to take up their positions. This is the highest threshold requirement found anywhere in Europe. It clearly discriminates against the pro-Kurdish parties because there is a large concentration of Kurds within the Southeast region only. This means that it is difficult for the parties to cross the first threshold, and near impossible for them to fulfil the second requirement.

In order to overcome these obstacles, some potential members of parliament have registered as independent candidates. This has caused its own problems, not least of which being that many voters are illiterate and will struggle to find the correct candidate on the now long and confusing ballot paper. Furthermore, there have been reports of intimidation of voters, especially by the Turkish security forces in Kurdish villages.

Another rule that hampers the Kurds' ability to gain representation in the national assembly is the law banning any election campaigning in a language other than Turkish. This is a serious violation of freedom of expression, and is clearly designed to prevent minorities such as the Kurds from campaigning for representation. Other examples of the repression of pro-Kurdish parties are the reported arrests of potential candidates, the banning of political parties, and the suppression of campaigning. These acts amount to violations of freedom of association and assembly.

By not allowing free and genuine elections, Turkey is clearly in violation of its obligations under the ECHR and under the international covenant on civil and political rights. Kerim Yildiz, executive director of the Kurdish Human Rights Project (KHRP), stated: "As long as the inherent problems in the Turkish electoral system remain unresolved, Kurdish people will not be free to elect a representative of their choice for fair and equitable political representation."

KHRP calls on the Turkish government to remove direct and indirect restrictions on the campaigning and election of Kurdish political representatives and to allow a fair and genuine expression of the will of the people." It is now down to us, as members of the EU and of the international community, to do something to ensure that Turkey does not get away with these blatant violations of the Kurds' rights.