No silence over Turkey violations of 'fundamental rights'
President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz says the recent deal between the European Union and Ankara on refugees must not allow concessions over human rights violations in Turkey.
“We must not be silent on violations of fundamental rights in Turkey just because we are cooperating on the refugee question,” said Martin Schulz in an interview with the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag on Sunday.
“On the contrary, we must denounce these violations and permanently stay in discussions with Turkey on freedom of expression and human rights issues.”
Shultz's comments came days after Turkish government summoned German ambassador to Ankara Martin Erdmann over a satirical German music video lampooning Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ankara strongly demanded Erdmann to pull the video off the air. The video had been broadcast by Hamburg-based television NDR.
Erdmann stressed that in Germany political satire was covered by the freedom of the press and of expression and that the government had neither the need for, nor the option of, taking action.
"It is unacceptable that the president of another country demands that we restrict democratic rights in Germany because he feels he was caricatured," Schulz said, arguing that Erdogan’s reaction “went one step too far” when his government called in the Germany’s envoy over the video.
The government in Ankara faces widespread condemnation over crackdown on critical media outlets as well as MPs, scholars, lawyers and NGOs.
On March 18, the European Union and Turkey reached a deal aimed at preventing refugees from reaching Europe by crossing the sea from Turkey to Greece’s Aegean islands.
The EU-Turkey deal, however, has provoked strong reactions from aid agencies and rights groups, including the United Nations' refugee agency, the United Nations Children's Fund, the UK-based NGO Save the Children, and Amnesty International, over its legality and practicability.
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