Interview with Member of the Turkish parliament from the Republican People Party (CHP), former judge of the European Court of Human Rights Riza Turmen.
- It is clear that after the known decision of the French Senate the Turkey’s citizens and Turks in Europe will address most of all the European Court of Human Rights. What would you like to say about this process on the basis of your long-term experience in that Court?
- In substance, the question is that France limits the freedom of thought. That’s why the course of the steps that will be taken by us afterwards will be in this direction. You know that earlier Switzerland has passed a similar decision and Chairman of the Turkey’s Workers Party Doğu Perinçek was punished in Lausanne in 2005 for his words “Armenian genocide is an international lie”. The process on Perinçek’s complaint to the European Court of Human Rights is continuing. Turkey expressed its position on that process in Strasbourg. There are two ways:
1) Persons can complain to the European Court of Human Rights on French Senate’s decision;
2) Turkey can sue France for its attempt to limit the freedom of thought and opinion by means of punishment.
There are less facts of countries’ application against each other in the ECHR in the international experience, because claims of a state against another one have an impact on their bilateral relations. It is not necessary for the state to wait for end of the domestic legal ways for filing application against another state in the ECHR; for example, Turkey could file a claim against France in the ECHR within 6 months after Sarkozy’s approval of this draft law. That’s why I think that the addressing the ECHR by persons will be further actually. The French court could punish Turkey’s citizens or Turks in Europe for their denial of “genocide” and the people could address to the ECHR after confirming of the decision within 6 months. The state will support its citizens in their applications to the ECHR and the court will ask its position too and the state’s support will increase the citizen’s chances to win the process. Doghu Perinçek’s claim against Switzerland in the ECHR is important for Turkey. This process hasn’t finished yet, if Perinçek wins, we can say that many things will change in favor of Turkey. That’s why I think that it will be better to wait for the result of Perinçek’s case and then to file application against France in the ECHR. The European Court has adopted many decisions on historical events up to now. But it will be its first decision on the judgments of the court which punishes the people who say that “the events of 1915 were not genocide” and I believe that it will take the restriction of freedom of speech and expression into consideration while passing a decision and also will approach the 1915 events from different point of view, because:
1) Parliamentary decisions on the historic events give a political entity to the events;
2) As distinct from the genocide of the Jews during the World War Two, the events of 1915 have not been approved by the court as “genocide”.
Therefore I believe that in its decision ECHR will give special attention to these points.
- You have spoken as former judge of the Europe’s highest court so far. Now I would like you to answer next question as a politician. You know that 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands are under the Armenian occupation long years. Although the OSCE Minsk Group undertakes the mission to solve the problem peacefully, no piece of Azerbaijani occupied lands has been liberated in the past 20 years. France is one of the three co-chairs of the Minsk Group. What is your opinion? Does the French Senate’s decision overshadow the neutrality of this country in the Minsk Group? Does France need to leave the Minsk Group willingly after this decision?
- France followed political causes while passing decision against Turkey. President Sarkozy aims to win the votes of French Armenians in the elections. If France passed this bill under the Armenian lobby’s pressure, it is very likely that it will be under this pressure during the solution of other issues too. France took a step against Turkey, its important ally and trade partner. The first question that comes to mind is that will France, which could hurt Turkey, do same thing against Azerbaijan? Armenian lobby in France can direct the country’s policy and therefore it is right to concern about that the Armenian lobby will lead France in subjective direction in the solution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Therefore France needs to review its chairmanship in the Minsk Group and to leave this group.
- You spoke about the personal complaints to the ECHR. As a result of occupation by Armenia, one million Azerbaijanis were expelled from their homelands and the state of occupation continues. A woman from the South Cyprus Titina Loizidou raised a €1-million compensation claim against Turkey in the ECHR and won it. But there are not so much complaints of the Azerbaijani refugees to the ECHR….
- There were complaints. Some Azerbaijani citizens personally appealed the ECHR. The European Court passed resolution against Turkey in the case of Loizidou v. Turkey because there were 35 000 Turkish troops in the northern part of the island. The court ruled that the northern part of the island is under the Turkish army’s control and therefore urged Turkey to pay €1 million to Loizidou for her property she left in the north in 1974. But Armenia occupied Nagorno Karabakh and other regions around it – Lachin, Kelbajar and etc. It controls these regions and therefore has direct responsibility. Some Armenians leaving Azerbaijan complained to the ECHR, but their complaints are groundless because they didn’t leave their homes as a result of any occupation. Azerbaijani citizens are right in this issue and therefore they have to insist on their complaints. It will be important for Azerbaijan to win these cases.
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