17 Amendments of Baroness Sarah LUDFORD related to 2012/2870(RSP)
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15
Citation 15
– havNoting regard to the fact that Turkey has still not fully implemented, for the seventh consecutive year, the provisions stemming from the EC-Turkey Association Agreement and the Additional Protocol thereto the provisions of the Additional Protocol to the EC-Turkey Association Agreement and that the European Union has still not taken all the necessary steps towards lifting the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots as stipulated in the EU Council Conclusions of 26 April 2004,
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses Turkey's strategic role, politically and geographically, for the foreign policy of the EU and its neighbourhood policy; recognises Turkey's role as an important regional player and calls on the EU and Turkey to further reinforce their existing political dialogue on foreign policy choices and objectives; regrets that the alignment of Turkey with CFSP declarations continued to be low in 2012; encourages Turkey to develop its foreign policy in the framework of dialogue and coordination with the EUrequires Turkey, in particular, to align itself closely with the common foreign and security stance of the European Union against Islamist fundamentalism; encourages Turkey to develop its foreign policy in the framework of dialogue and coordination with the EU; to that end proposes that Turkey is invited to participate in the European Council meeting in December 2013 which is to be devoted to common foreign, security and defence policy;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. CommendsNotes the commitment of the Constitution Conciliation Committee for its commitment totowards the drafting of a new Constitution and for the inclusive process of consultation of civil society, which reflected the diversity of Turkish society; encourages the Committee to continue its workis concerned, nevertheless, at the apparent lack of progress made by the Committee so far; encourages the Committee to review its working methods with the aim of reaching genuine consensus based on compromise, and to tackle in a collegial way, and in line with the values of the EU, key issues such as (i) the separation of power and an adequate system of checks and balances, (ii) relations between the State, society and religion, (iii) an inclusive system of governance securing the basic rights of all citizens and (iv) an inclusive concept of citizenship;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7a (new)
Paragraph 7a (new)
7a. Is deeply concerned about serious, constant and multi-fold political discriminations that pro-Kurdish opposition party BDP has been facing in 2012, including waivers of parliamentary immunity against several elected TGNA Members and threats of dissolution of the party; deeply regrets the damage done by the arrests of thousands of BDP and other activists and their retention in pre-trial detention for years and asks Turkish government to urgently change laws and regulate the judiciary in order to undo the damage done;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recalls that freedom of expression and media pluralism are core European values and that a truly democratic society requires true freedom of expression, including the right of dissent; underlines the importance of abolishing legislation providing for disproportionately high fines on the media, leading in some cases to their closure or to self-censorship, and the urgent need to reform the internet law; condemns the continued imprisonment of journalists and insists that the Turkish government begin to implement adequate procedures to guarantee freedom of speech and expression within Turkish society;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9a (new)
Paragraph 9a (new)
9a. Recommends Turkish authorities to allow the free the use of Kurdish in all aspects of public life in Kurdish-speaking areas including in schools, municipalities, courts and business life; encourages the government of Turkey to work towards Kurdish to be part of bilingual education from kindergarten onward and starting a program of state support for teacher- training in Kurdish languages; underlines the importance of Prime Minister Erdoğan and his government to go further in convincing Turkish public opinion that reforms aiming at equal treatment are justified on the basis of justice, fairness and a common history as well as to convince Kurds that reforms will be fully implemented; recommends Turkish government to help inform public opinion about the international legitimacy of multi-lingualism in education, ethnic diversity and wider powers for local government;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16a (new)
Paragraph 16a (new)
16a. Notes the increasing difficulties in buying alcoholic drinks; calls on the public authorities to actively defend secular lifestyles throughout the country;
Amendment 254 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Notes that Turkey continued to demonstrate resilience at the terrorist attacks by the PKK; calls on Turkey to invest renewed efforts towards a political solution to the Kurdish issue; asks all political forces to ensure an adequate political platform and to debate in a constructive way the Kurdish issue and to facilitate a real opening to the claims for basic rights in the Constitutional process; asks all political forces to work in alliance towards the goal of reinforced political dialogue and a process of further political, cultural and socio-economic inclusion and participation of citizens of Kurdish origin, in order to guarantee the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly and promote the peaceful inclusion of citizens of Kurdish origin into Turkish society; recalls that a political solution can only be built upon a truly democratic debate on the Kurdish issue and expresses concern at the large number of cases launched against writers and journalists writing on the Kurdish issue and the arrest of several Kurdish politicians, mayors and members of municipal councils, trade unionists, lawyers, protestors and human rights defenders in connection with the KCK trial; calls for the murders of three Kurdish activists in Paris on 9th January to be fully investigated by the appropriate French and Turkish authorities; underlines the importance of promoting a discussion of the Kurdish issue within the democratic institutions, particularly the TGNA;
Amendment 258 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Condemns firmly the assassination in Paris, on 9 January 2013, of three Kurdish female activists; calls on the French authorities to do everything possible to ensure that the perpetrators and those who ordered these killings are brought swiftly to justice and sentenced;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18b (new)
Paragraph 18b (new)
18b. Welcomes the direct political dialogue that the Turkish government has recently opened with Abdullah Öcalan; deems that a perspective for negotiations has been opened which could lead to a historical agreement settling the Kurdish conflict in a peaceful and democratic way; therefore, encourages the conflict parties to transform talks into structured negotiations as soon as possible; underlines the importance of strong and positive support to the process that should be given by the EU Member States as well as the constructive role that political parties, media and civil society in Turkey must play for the peace process to succeed; further underlines the importance of the constitutional reform process for a lasting settlement of the Kurdish question;
Amendment 261 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Calls on the Turkish authorities to ensure that the circumstances of the massacre of Uludere / Sirnak on 28 December 2011, in which 34 innocent civilians lost their lives due to indiscriminate army shelling, are fully clarified and that the ongoing investigation is relaunched so that those responsible are brought to justice;
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Welcomes the incentives package seeking to increase investment and economic development in the least developed regions of Turkey, including the South East and the continuation of the South East Anatolia project; calls on the Turkish government not to override the Turkish State Council's decision to halt the construction of the Ilisu Dam due to the potential environmental and human rights guidelines that could be violated by continuing the project;
Amendment 268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Reiterates the need to strengthen cohesion among Turkish regions and between rural and urban areas to open opportunities for the population at large and promote economic and social inclusion; highlights the particular role of education and the need to tackle persistent and substantial regional disparities in the quality of education and enrolment rates; calls for steps conducive to the opening ofto be taken to open Chapter 22 on Regional Policy, and hopes that the impending visit of President Hollande to Turkey will provide the occasion for progress in this regard;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Expresses once again its strong support to the reunification of Cyprus, based on a fair and viable settlement with agreed UN parameters of bi-zonality, bi-communality and political equality for both communities; underlines the urgency of an agreement between the two communities on how to proceed with the substantive settlement negotiations and stresses the importance of setting up a timeframe, so that the negotiating process, under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General, can soon regain momentum; at leaders level; recalls onthat Turkey to beginhas often expressed its readiness to withdrawing its forces from Cyprus and transfer Famagusta to the UN in accordance with UNSC Resolution 550 (1984); calls, in parallel, on the Republic of Cyprus to open the port of Famagusta under EU customs supervision in order to promote a positive climate for the successful solution of the ongoing reunification negotiations and allow Turkish Cypriots to trade directly in a legal manner that is acceptable to allupon a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus as also stipulated in the 2004 Annan Plan; calls on the Republic of Cyprus to allow the adoption of the Direct Trade Regulation which would enable the Turkish Cypriots to trade directly with the EU with preferential tariffs, which shall bring Turkish Cypriot people closer to the European Union;
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Encourages Turkey toand all other sides to further intensify its support for the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP), as CMP is one of the most sensitive and important projects in the island and its work affects equally lives of thousands of people on both sides of the island;
Amendment 375 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26a (new)
Paragraph 26a (new)
26a. Notes that non-settlement of the Cyprus issue affects the process of EU- Turkey relations and therefore calls on all sides concerned to make a concerted effort towards the resolution of the Cyprus problem;
Amendment 384 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Reiterates its condemnation, in the strongest terms, of the continuing terrorist violence by the PKK, which is on the EU list of terrorist organisations, and expresses its full solidarity to Turkey and to the families of the many victims; calls on the Member States, in close coordination with the EU counter terrorism coordinator and Europol, to intensify cooperation with Turkey in the fight against terrorism and organised crime as a source of financing of terrorism; calls on TurkeyDeeply deplores the estimated number of 500 victims that fights and attacks related to the Kurdish conflict have caused in 2012; underlines that the Kurdish conflict is currently among the most violent conflicts happening in a European country; reiterates its condemnation, in the strongest terms, of the continuing terrorist violence by the PKK, which is on the EU list of terrorist organisations, and expresses its full solidarity to Turkey and to the families of the many victims; encourages Turkish government and mainstream media to resist the impulse to further call for anti- terrorist war and focus instead, together with Kurds, on long-term conflict resolution; encourages the Kurdish movement, including PKK leaders, to abjure on violence and publicly commit to realistic political goals; calls on Turkey's international partners, notably the U.S., Canada, UK, Ireland and Spain to engage with the Turkish government and opinion leaders to share experiences of defusing ethnic, linguistic, and regional tensions, including through travel programs for officials, politicians and opinion-makers from all relevant sides and parties in Turkey; calls on the Member States, in close coordination with the EU counter terrorism coordinator and Europol, to intensify cooperation with Turkey in the fight against terrorism including against violent extremist Turkish groups operating in Europe; calls on Turkey to review its definition of terrorism is in line with EU and other international norms as well as to adopt a data protection law and legislation on the financing of terrorism so that a cooperation agreement can be concluded with Europol and judicial cooperation with Eurojust and with the EU Member States can further develop; takes the view that the assignment of a police liaison officer to Europol would help improve bilateral cooperation;