While Norwegian authorities are making plans for increased cooperation, primarily in the areas of oil- and gas production in Central Asia, human rights organisations keeping their eyes on Turkey issue warnings that the country´s human rights record is still far from acceptable. NRK, the Norwegian public service broadcasting corporation, says an agreement was signed between Turkey´s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik during the latter´s brief visit to Ankara last week. Statoil, the Norwegian state-owned oil company, is already heavily involved in the region´s oil and gas production.
In an interview with Bergen’s leading daily, Bergens Tidende, on November 3rd, Özlem Dalkiran draws attention to the fact that basic democractic principles, such as the freedom of opinion and expression and the right to assembly, association and organisation have yet to be observed. Any challenge to the authorities´ own limits on these issues may lead to arrest. In Turkish prisons, police station and interrogation centres, torture is still widely in use, not only in the manner of ordinary beatings, but also in more sophisticated ways, making use of equipment designed solely for this purpose. At least one thousand political prisoners suffer inhuman serving conditions. The well-known Kurd leader Abdullah Öcalan, arrested under dramatic circumstances in the autumn of 1998, is only one of these.
In the Friday Nov. 7th issue of Norwegian daily Aftenposten, Petter Eide, Managing Director of Amnesty International, Norway, draws attention to the process of EU adjustments Turkey has embarked upon and the potential for improvement herein, especially in the areas of human rights and democratic development. -Already, the death penalty has been abolished, the army´s independence has been reduced and the rights of self-determination for the Kurds are on the rise, says Eide, -all as part of Turkisk authorities´ attempt to meet the requirement of the EU for membership negotiations to begin. However, these are all legislative reforms. In terms of implementation, a lot is still left to be desired. Despite Amnesty International´s claim that the use of torture has increased over the last years, especially during interrogation, Eide welcomes the invitation to closer cooperation between the Norwegian and Turkish police as part of the bigger cooperation agreement. -Any Norwegian engagement in the petroleum sector, however, is more controversial, says Eide. -Such an agreement ought for instance to include guarantees of the locally affected´s freedom of expression and their right to demonstrate against the new installations. The oil companies must be trained in human rights issues.
Norwegian PM Bondevik shares the hope that such cooperation may lead to further sensitization of the Turkish police. -Learning to combine efficient police work with respect for human rights will be an important part of improving the entire human rights situation, says the PM to Aftenposten. The PM believes that the Turkish government´s wish to improve the its human rights record is genuine.
Gunnar Karlsen, deputy Secretary General of the Norwegian Helsinki Group, also acknowledges the improvements Turkey is making on the human rights front, but emphasises as well the fact that there has been no decrease in reported torture cases. -Norway´s attitude to cooperation has to be open-minded, yet fully aware of what is happening, says Karlsen.
