Mr. President, I voted in favour of the resolution on the current human rights situation in Turkey as I am deeply concerned about this situation. The government’s repressive measures under the state of emergency are disproportionate and a breach of basic rights and freedoms enshrined in international conventions to which Turkey is a state party.
The lack of respect for the freedom of religion and increased discrimination against Christians is as worrying as the pattern of imprisonments of a large number of members of the democratic opposition and journalists like the German Deniz Yücel, human rights defenders like peace activist Osman Kavala, lawyers, civil society representatives and nearly 5 000 academics in Turkey.
I expect a candidate country to uphold the highest standards of democracy, including respect for human rights, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms such as freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association as fundamental pillars of any democratic society.