Monitoring of human rights in Turkey
The Council of Europe has restarted full monitoring of Turkey after 13 years. In future two observers will travel to the country on a regular basis to assess adherence to the rule of law and human rights. This is the result of Ankara's increasingly authoritarian course, oppositional Turkish media conclude, while the pro-government press sees other reasons for the decision.
We're being kicked out of Europe
Turkey is now paying the price for its policies of the last few years, writes the Kemalist daily Sözcü:
“Those who want a president to be the law, the court, the police and the watchman all in one - in other words the legislative, executive and judiciary at the same time, will ruin Turkey. You can't be pro-European and at the same time try to copy the Arabs. The two can't coexist. You can't be for the rule of law and at the same time want an absolutist head of state. These two things don't work together. You can't be for Copenhagen and yet admire Qatar. The two things don't go together. Those who represent a pan-Islamist world view and those who call themselves Muslim democrats can't dance with each other. The masks have come off, the fancy-dress ball is over! We're being kicked out of Europe.”
The West is obsolete
The Council of Europe's announced intention of monitoring the human rights situation in Turkey is scandalously patronising, the pro-government daily Akşam rails:
“Europe is the sick man now. It has completely lost its values yet remains as arrogant as ever. The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe and the EU are no longer civilisation projects but have become instruments of dominance. They are angry because Turkey has created increasingly strong regional and national policies. In particular when we cast off the biggest shackle on April 16, they were furious. It's time to free ourselves from these mechanisms of dominance. ... We must finally stop seeing ourselves as part of the West. We must bring diversity into our partnerships and recognise our potential. ... This decision is rubbish. We are on the right path.”