Council of Europe concerned about the arrest of the Mayor of Istanbul: a special mission to Turkey on democracy issues is planned
Kyiv • UNN
The Council of Europe will send a mission to Turkey due to the arrest of the Mayor of Istanbul, which raises concerns about democracy in the country. Since 2016, 150 mayors have been dismissed in Turkey, often replaced by government appointees.
The Congress of the Council of Europe held urgent debates in which it declared its desire to "put an end to the removal and dismissal of mayors in Turkey", UNN reports with reference to Euronews.
Details
Against the background of the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu, there is concern in Europe about the state of democratic norms in Turkey. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe held debates and now intends to send a fact-finding mission to Turkey regarding the "democratic retreat". The issue is about revealing facts of large-scale pressure on the opposition and the dismissal of elected mayors.
In this context, 150 elected mayors in Turkey are being considered, many of whom were representatives of opposition parties who have been dismissed since 2016 and often replaced by "trustees" from the current government.
We want to put an end to the removal of mayors, the dismissal of mayors and the replacement of trustees. We do not think this is fair or appropriate
David Eray, another co-rapporteur, spoke about how a previous monitoring mission had identified a number of key issues that contradict the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which Turkey has signed.
The Congress debate was scheduled before Imamoglu's arrest, which only added to the urgency.
We have not received feedback [from the Turkish authorities on our recommendations], and since we have seen some mayors being dismissed, we have proposed to the Bureau to organise a special debate
Bryony Rudkin described the situation in Turkey as an example of "democratic backsliding that we would recognise in the rest of Europe".
Addition
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said on Tuesday that she has postponed an official visit to Turkey because of what is happening in the country after the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu.
The Slovenian European Commissioner referred to a diplomatic forum scheduled for 11-13 April and a meeting she planned in the Turkish capital with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
The European Union is deeply concerned about the detention and arrest of the Mayor of Istanbul and other public figures, including representatives of the press and civil society
According to her, this "significantly narrows the space for the exercise of fundamental freedoms, undermining democracy and political pluralism."