HMA Sir David Reddaway “Project on Raising Awareness of Chief Civil Administrators and Law Enforcement Personnel about the Enjoyment of Rights to Assemble and Demonstrate and make Press Statements” Opening Ceremony Speech: Dear Deputy Undersecretaries, Dear Head of Inspection Board, Dear Participants, Good afternoon. It's a pleasure to be here with you all today. The UK is delighted to be working with the Interior Ministry on this important project. The Right to Assembly; the Right to Demonstrate; and the Right to Make Press Statements are of course very topical at present. And quite apart from their relevance in Turkey’s daily political life, they are a key feature of the EU accession process. I therefore hope and expect that the project we are launching together today will achieve its objective of helping civil administrators and law enforcement personnel strike an effective balance between security on the one hand, and respect for these fundamentally important rights on the other. It is not always easy to get the balance right. But we have to. And this makes our project even more important. I know that the Interior Ministry is strongly committed to ensuring that Turkey carries out reforms necessary towards meeting the EU acquis. A great deal of progress has been made in recent years. It has been an important part of our Embassy’s business in Turkey to work with the Ministry during this process, most recently on a project to ensure that Turkey applies the highest standards in cracking down on corruption in local government. We look forward to working with you again now. I also welcome this project in the context of EU annual progress reports. The 2012 report identified various issues relating to the rights of assembly and association, and to press freedoms in Turkey, which it argued required remedial action. The 2013 report issues next week. I can’t predict what it will contain. I hope that the report will acknowledge the government’s recognition that mistakes have been made in the course of handling the recent protests in Turkey, and the government’s efforts to find solutions – for example the new instructions issued to the police on the use of tear gas, and the charging of a number of officers for acting with excessive force. It is also a significant step that the new office of the Ombudsman is now open and is investigating complaints. We understand he will be submitting his recommendations shortly. I think we can also safely assume that the “Democratisation Package” announced by the Turkish Prime Minister on 30 September will be covered in the report. I see that package as an important statement of the Government’s commitment to strengthening the rights of the citizen in Turkey, including those of minorities. Of course, some people have complained that the package did not go far enough in some areas. But there were some genuinely substantive commitments announced; and, importantly, the
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Prime Minister has emphasized that the package is part of a continuing process. We look forward to further steps. I believe that Turkey will be even stronger as a result of this sort of change. Before finishing, I would like to underline once again the British Government’s longstanding commitment to Turkey’s EU membership, and to working with you towards that goal. We share your frustration at the slow pace of the accession process. We are delighted that Chapter 22 (Regional Policy) should be opened later in the year, and we look forward to other progress. We believe as strongly as ever that Turkey’s EU Membership would be good for Turkey and good for the EU. Every step forward in your reform process reinforces the argument for Turkish membership. Hence the importance of projects like this one delivering results. Once again, sincere thanks to the Interior Ministry; to our own excellent Projects Team from the Embassy; and to everyone who will be involved in the project. Çok Teşekkürler 08.10.2013
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