Full Minutes of the Meetings

SESSION OF THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2004

Turkey’s Progress on the Road to Accession

Karamanou (PSE), Rapporteur of the Opinion of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities. – Mr. President, as the rapporteur for the opinion of the Committee on Women’s Rights, I consider it positive that Turkey has made efforts in recent times to improve the position of women in the country. However, we emphasize that the creation of specialized mechanisms at the state level is not enough; these mechanisms must also be strengthened with a strong legal framework and substantial funding in order to promote gender equality in practice and in everyday life. A particular issue remains violence in all its forms, especially domestic violence, and the lack of legal and psychological support mechanisms for victims. It is also appalling to report acts of violence by state security personnel against women, mostly from minority groups such as Kurdish women.

Regarding the criminal code, Turkey is called upon to abolish the practice of reduced sentences in cases of so-called honor crimes and to remove the reference to the virginity of women in the criminal code. Morality and tradition cannot be placed above the laws of the rule of law. At the same time, there is an urgent need to increase spending in the healthcare sector, which is at unacceptably low levels, thereby obstructing women’s right to access healthcare services.

I also point out that the participation and representation of women in democratic institutions is at unacceptably low levels, as is the participation of women in professional training and employment. Mrs. Smet spoke extensively about this.

Finally, we call for the immediate release of former Member of Parliament and Sakharov Prize laureate Leyla Zana, who has been in prison since 1994 along with three other parliamentarians for purely political reasons. Tomorrow, the 13th hearing will take place in Ankara, a process that began about a year ago under pressure from the European Union. Today, on the occasion of this discussion, we must send a very strong message to Turkey and demand the immediate release of Leyla Zana, as a small indication that, at last, Turkey is moving towards Europe.

Finally, Commissioner Verheugen, as a Greek, I would like to sincerely thank you for your tireless efforts to achieve a fair and sustainable solution to the Cyprus issue.