From: mocakauk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 21:19:23 +0200
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [Ozgurluk] (Fwd) Urgent News from the Human Rights Association in
Turkey
------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: "Kurdish Human Rights Project"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;>
Subject: Urgent News from the Human Rights Association in
Turkey re: African Immigrants in Istanbul
Date sent: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 17:23:54 +0100
Apologies for any cross-posting. We just received this urgent
news from the Human Rights Association in Turkey.
Kurdish Human Rights Project
London, UK
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Istanbul, 23 July 2001
AFRICAN MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES FACE
IMMINENT DEATH
IN THE BORDER ZONE
The ultimate test of a government's commitment
to human rights is the practices and attitudes of its agents
towards immigrants and refugees as well as
the level of the protection of human rights aliens in general.
On 14 July, between 205 and 290 African immigrants and refugees,
detained at various points in Istanbul on 7 July, regardless of their
status in Turkey, were dumped into the border line between Turkey
and Greece. Turkish gendarmery have been forcing them into the
Greek side, while the Greek border police have been forcing them
back into the Turkish side. It is alleged that three of them died,
three of them were raped, and the others are starving. They may be
facing imminent death and other dangers to their safety.
According to 106 complaints filed at the HRA since 19 July 2001,
more than 200 African immigrants and refugees were arrested by
Istanbul Police on 7 July. These people were kept under detention
until 14 July, and then forced into the border zone between Turkey
and Greece. In connection with this incident, our main concerns
are the following:
1. The only criterion in this collective detention practice was the
colour of the persons. They were not questioned under detention on
the grounds for leaving their countries and staying in Turkey;
neither were they questioned on their legal status in Turkey. There
were no charges made to them, including the usual charge that
they were "illegal immigrants".
2. It is reported that the detention conditions were inhuman, not
providing the detainees food, clean water and sanitation. The sick
persons were not provided with medical assistance while these
persons, especially women, became sick due to general detention
conditions, particularly the lack of clean drinking water. They were
kept in crowded narrow cells for at least 7 days collectively.
3. The detainess were forced to sign statements in Turkish, saying
that they entered Turkey from Greece and they wanted to go back
to Greece on their own will. It is reported that 7 of these persons
are still under detention as they did not sign those statements. It is
also reported that the police tore down the pages of passports
which contained the Turkish visa.
4. It is reported that more than 205 African immigrants and
refugees were taken to Ipsala district at the Turkish-Greek border,
and left there without food and water. They were forced to run into
the Greek side, and warned by the Turkish gendarmery that they
would be shot if they turned back. They were not admitted to the
Greek side, and kep under Greek detention for one day, and forced
to go back to the Turkish side, where they were forced to go back
to the Turkish side again and again. It is learned that most of them
are still staying there in the bush.
5. It is alleged that a man and a woman were raped by the
gendarmery, that three persons were drowned in the water during
their flight between two sides. These allegations should be clarified
immediately.
6. Ms. Eren Keskin, the Chairwoman of Istanbul Branch of HRA,
went to the Alien Police to visit the detainees on 18 July. Although
she is entitled to visit detainees as a lawyer, her request for visit
and information was rejected by the police.
According to the assessment by our Committee on the basis of
individual application by African immigrants living in Istanbul,
including those who were detained during the mentioned collective
detention, some of these persons might be refugees in terms of the
grounds for leaving their countries. It is observed that some of
these persons have been displaced due to fear of persecution
connected with political, ethnic, religious and tribal discrimination
as well as wide-spread violence and internal warfare or attacks by
armed groups. They were deprived of protection by the state whose
nationals they were. On the other hand, such persons have not
started asylum procedures due to lack of information, and our
Association has informed them on procedures with the UNHCR.
On the other hand, we are concerned with the manner in which
these persons were detained as well as detention conditions and
the conditions under which they are kept now. This constitutes ill-
treatment irrespective of their legal status in Turkey. The
information we have gathered on detention conditions suggest that
the conditions of detention at Istanbul Aliens Police have not
changed since the European Committee for the Prevention of
Torture made a statement on them after their 1997 visit.
Collective detention of persons only on the grounds of their colour
needs particular emphasis. Such a practice raises the concern that
security forces discriminate people on racial grounds. We observe
that the discourse of Turkish authorities and the media on aliens
living in Turkey, especially on African immigrants, strenthens
xenophobic and racist attitudes in Turkey, and that this is reflected
in teh attitudes of the security forces. We consider that no one can
be seen as unwanted guests on the grounds of their colour. The
people of Turkey have never wanted the security forces to
homogenise the country. Turkey is not an homogenous country
and will never be.
The right of the persons who are displaced and forced to leave their
countries due to fear should at least be welcomed in another
country; this is a long-rooted tration of humanity.
The HRA declares that the ultimate test of a government's
commitment to human rights is the practices and attitudes of its
agents towards immigrants and refugees as well as the level of the
protection of aliens' human rights.
Moreover, whereas the Turkish government signed the 1951
Convention on the Status of Refugees with a geographical
limitation, this limitation is only connected to the exclusion of non-
European refugees from the right to seek asylum within Turkey; it
does not entitle Turkey to exclude those persons from the
Convention guarantees, including the obligation to test whether
these persons need international protection or not.
The principles of international refugee law have to be applied to
every person who may need international protection. Particularly,
the geographical limitation does not exempt Turkey from its
obligations to allow people to stay in Turkey until they are granted
the refugee status and/or resettled in another country, neither does
it entitle the Turkish government to exempt its obligations under
international and European conventions to protect human rights of
aliens from non-European countries.
The HRA declares that if the situation of African immigrants cannot
be remedied by the judiciary in Turkey, it will have to bring the
issue to the European Court of Human Rights and other
international mechanisms.
In particular, the fact that these persons were dumped into the
border zone, in a way to deport them without an opportunity to
judical scrutiny, risking their safety and survival, cannot be
accepted in humanitarian terms. While the governments may
deport persons, they can only implement such practices for good
and justified reasons and in respect of the due process of law and
human rights. Deportation of persons should not amount to ill-
treatment and inhuman treatment, and not risk person's life and
safety.
Unfortunately, tens of thousands of people are deported from
Turkey on the pretext that they are "illegal immigrants", without
questioning whether they need international protection or they are
simply economic immigrants. Such practices seem to be
completely under the discretion of security forces and immune both
from political control and, certainly, from judiciary review.
Immigration and asylum have become an area left completely to
security forces in Turkey.
Furthermore, the right of human rights activists to monitor alleged
violations is now a principle of international human rights law. We
protest the prevention of Ms. Eren Keskin from visiting the
detainees. We should point out that she is entitled to visit
detainees as a lawyer. In preventing her, the police deprived the
detainees of their right to be provided with legal assistance too.
We call upon the government and the general public for
humanitarian assistance to the immigrants and refugees awaiting
the determination of their fate and facing imminent death due to
dehydration and hunger, and for immediate clarification of their
situation. We request the authorities not to prevent the commission
that the HRA is planning to send for monitoring the situation in
Ipsala border zone.
Finally, this last incident is one of the tragic examples of the
Turkish authorities' policies on the issue of "illegal immigration" and
non-European refugees. We reiterate our firm stance against the
illegal and dangereous trafficking of human persons, while
emphasising that such operations are not independent of European
and Turkish practices restricting and circumventing the right to
seek asylum. The HRA will publicise its report on this issue as
soon as possible.
Our concern here is the unlawful and inhumane nature of practices
regarding "illegal immigrants" and refugees. The HRA calls upon
the authorities to improve such practices and regulate them in
strict compliance with international human rights standards.
The HRA declares that, at this point, the African immigrants
trapped in the border zone are not under the protection of any
state, and the HRA considers them having the same status with
refugees under human rights law, in terms of requiring international
protection, as long as they are kept there and as long as it is not
clarified whether the protection of their countries of origin are
available for them individually or not.
Y. B�lent Peker
Speaker,
Committee on Migration, Displacement and Refugees,
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