The Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has today called for the monitoring procedure in respect of Turkey to be re-opened in order to strengthen its co-operation with the Turkish authorities and all forces in the country and thus ensure respect for fundamental freedoms, the rule of law and democracy.
Eight months after the failed coup in Turkey and the declaration of a state of emergency, the Monitoring Committee is concerned to note that there has been a “serious deterioration of the functioning of democratic institutions in the country”. In their report, adopted by the committee, Marianne Mikko (Estonia, SOC) and Ingebjørg Godskesen (Norway, EC) point out that the government has adopted “disproportionate measures” that go beyond what is permitted by the Turkish Constitution and international law, and express concern about the extent of the purges conducted in the public administration (150,000 civil servants dismissed), the army, the judiciary and the teaching profession. The report states that one quarter of judges and prosecutors, one tenth of the police force, 30 per cent of the staff in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 5,000 academics have been dismissed.
