Transnationalization of human rights norms and its impact on internally displaced Kurds

Human Rights Quarterly

Volumn 27, Issue 3, 2005, Pages 969-997

  Çelik, Ayşe Betûl ^a  

^a SABANCI UNIVERSITY   (Turkey)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CULTURAL RELATIONS; DISPLACEMENT; ETHNIC MINORITY; HUMAN RIGHTS;

EASTERN HEMISPHERE; EURASIA; TURKEY; WORLD;

EID: 27644536344     PISSN: 02750392     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/hrq.2005.0032     Document Type: Review

References (141)

1. Pamela A. Jordan, Does Membership Have Its Privileges?: Entrance into the Council of Europe and Compliance with Human Rights Norms, 25 Hum. Rts. Q. 660 (2003).
2. Rosemary Foot, Rights Beyond Borders: The Global Community and the Struggle over Human Rights in China 2 (2000);
3. Jordan, supra note 1.
4. Jordan, supra note 1, at 660.
5. The article states that "[n]othing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter." U.N. Charter, art. 2, 7, signed 26 June 1945, 59 Stat. 1031, T.S. No. 993, 3 Bevans 1153 (entered into force 24 Oct. 1945).
6. David Held, Political Theory Today 212 (2001).
7. Foot, supra note 2, at 13.
8. See also Kenneth Waltz, Theory of International Politics (1979);
9. F.H. Hinsley, Sovereignty (2d ed. 1986);
10. Hans J. Morgenthau, Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace 3 (5th ed. 1973) (explaining the realist paradigm).
11. See, e.g., The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change (Thomas Risse et al. eds., 1999);
12. Margaret E. Keck & Kathryn Sikkink, Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics (1998);
13. Kathryn Sikkink, Human Rights, Principled Issue-Networks, and Sovereignty in Latin America, 47 Int'l Org. 437 (1993).
14. See Foot, supra note 2, at 10;
15. Keck & Sikkink, supra note 8.
16. Sikkink, supra note 8, at 437.
17. Jordan, supra note 1, at 660.
18. International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, The Responsibility to Protect: Report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (2001).
19. Seteney Shami, Population Displacement and Resettlement: Development and Conflict in the Middle East 2 (1994).
20. See Howard Adelman, Modernity, Globalization, Refugees and Displacement, in Refugees: Perspectives on the Experience of Forced Migration 83, 89 (Alastair Ager ed., 1999).
21. The Global IDP Project, available at www.db.idpproject.org/ global_overview.htm#9.
22. The Forsaken People: Case Studies of the Internally Displaced 1 (Roberta Cohen & Francis M. Deng eds., 1998).
23. Erin D. Mooney, Principles of Protection for Internally Displaced Persons, 38 Int'l Migration 82, 82 (2000).
24. Luke T. Lee, Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees: Toward a Legal Synthesis?, 9 J. Refugee Stud. 27 (1996).
25. The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol are the basic international documents that gave the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) an international legal basis to protect refugees by establishing the signatory nations' obligations for the protection and rights of refugees. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, adopted 28 Jul. 1951, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.2/108 (1951), 189 U.N.T.S. 150 (entered into force 22 Apr. 1954), reprinted in 3 Weston III.G.4.;
26. Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, done 31 Jan. 1967, 19 U.S.T. 6223, T.I.A.S. No. 6577, 606 U.N.T.S. 267 (entered into force 4 Oct. 1967) (entered into force for U.S. 1 Nov. 1968).
27. Cohen argues that several cases exist in which governments discourage international involvement, and these IDPs remain beyond the range of international activities. The governments of these countries either do not acknowledge that there is a problem (i.e., Algeria, Myanmar, India) or insist that they can handle the issue themselves (i.e., Turkey, India). See Roberta Cohen, Hard Cases: Internal Displacement in Turkey, Burma and Algeria, 6 Forced Migration Rev. 25, 25-26 (1999).
28. Masses in Flight: The Global Crisis of Internal Displacement 18 (Roberta Cohen & Francis M. Deng eds., 1998).
29. The Global IDP Project, Country Information Page: Colombia, available at www.db.idpproject.org/Sites/idpSurvey.nsf/wCountries/Colombia.
30. Mooney, supra note 17 at 82.
31. Id.
32. Maria Stavropoulou, Displacement and Human Rights: Reflections on UN Practice, 20 Hum. Rts. Q. 515, 531 (1998).
33. Geneva Convention (III) Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 12 Aug. 1949, 6 U.S.T. 3316, 75 U.N.T.S. 135 (entered into force 21 Oct. 1950) (entered into force for U.S. 2 Feb. 1956);
34. Protocol (II) Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II) 8 June 1977, art 13, 1, 1125 U.N.T.S. 609 (entered into force 7 Dec. 1978), reprinted in 16 I.L.M. 1442 (1977).
35. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted 27 Nov. 1948, G.A. Res. 217A (III), U.N. GAOR, 3d Sess. (Resolutions, pt. 1) at 71, art. 13, U.N. Doc. A/810 (1948), reprinted in 43 Am. J. Int'l L. 127 (Supp. 1949);
36. International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, adopted 16 Dec. 1966, G.A. Res. 2200 (XXI), U.N. GAOR, 21st Sess., Supp. No. 16, art. 12, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171 (entered into force 23 Mar. 1976).
37. The only exception is the short-lived, December 1945 Mahabad Republic in today's Iran. The Republic ceased to exist when the Soviet forces and support, which helped the foundation of the Republic, were withdrawn in December 1946. See David McDowall, A Modern History of the Kurds (1997).
38. Treaty of Peace with Turkey, 24 Jul. 1923, Turk.-Allies [Gr. Brit., Fr., Italy, Japan, Greece, Rom., & Serb-Croat-Slovene State], 28 L.N.T.S. 11 [hereinafter, Treaty of Lausanne].
39. Kemal Kirişçi & Gareth Winrow, The Kurdish Question and Turkey: An Example of a Trans-State Ethnic Conflict 100 (Frank Cass ed., 1997).
40. Kemal Kirişçi, Turkey, in Internally Displaced People: A Global Survey (Janie Hampton ed., 1998).
41. See, e.g., Preventing Conflict in the Post-Communist World: Mobilizing International and Regional Organizations 1, 7 (Abram Chayes & Antonia Handler Chayes eds., 1996);
42. Connie Peck, Sustainable Peace: The Role of the UN and Regional Organizations in Preventing Conflict 98 (1998);
43. Connie Peck, The Role of Regional Organizations in Preventing and Resolving Conflict, in Turbulent Peace: The Challenges of Managing International Conflict (Chester A. Crocker et al. eds., 2001);
44. Terence Hopmann, The Role of Multilateral Organizations in Conflict Resolution: The Case of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 2 (2002) (occasional paper, Sabanci University, Program on Conflict Analysis and Resolution).
45. See Mooney, supra note 17, at 87;
46. Stavropoulou, supra note 25.
47. In 1987, the Prime Minister Turgut Özal established a system of emergency rule (OHAL) with a regional governor for most of the southeast. It aimed to control the region with strict state measures. The system was also supported by the village guard system of thousands of civilian, pro-government Kurds to supplement the state's control in the region. See Michael M. Gunter, The Kurds and the Future of Turkey 61 (1997).
48. Kirişçi, supra note 31, at 198.
49. Southeastern Anatolia is characterized as a traditional agricultural region. Beginning in the late 1960s, the region started to lose its population to the big metropolises as a result of increasing dominance of market mechanisms in the region. The rate of out-migration increased especially after the 1980s due to the conflict between the Kurdish insurgents and the Turkish military. However, the latest developments to boost economic growth through a series of irrigation and development projects such as the GAP (Southeastern Anatolia Project) helped to attract in-migration toward the urban centers, and the population growth in the urban centers began to increase again. See Bahattin Akpit et al., Population Movements in Southeastern Anatolia: Some Findings of an Empirical Research in 1993, 14 New Perspectives on Turkey 53 (1996). Thus, the region is losing its rural population to the big cities in Western Anatolia as a result of the conflict between the Kurdish insurgents and the Turkish military on the one hand, and administrative-urban centers of the region are attracting people on the other hand, increasing the urban population of the region.
50. Human Rights Association, Habitat II Alternatif Rapor: Eşit, Õzgür, Ayrýmsýz Yerlepim Hakký (Habitat II Alternative Report: Right to Equal, Free, Indiscriminate Residence) (undated).
51. Id.
52. Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Report of the Committee of the National Assembly to Inquire the Problems of the Citizens, Who Migrated as a result of Evacuations in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia, and To Determine Solutions, Commission Report No. 10/25 (9 Feb. 1997).
53. After the 1999 capture of Õcalan, the leader of the PKK, the government initiated a return program. The previous habitants in some villages of Bingõl, Bitlis, Tunceli, Batman, and Diyarbakýr, and Van are allowed to return to their villages if they sign a petition form, and indicate that their villages were evacuated because of terrorism. However, these villages require a reconstruction and public facilities to be able to welcome the returnees. Although there are still some minor problems faced by these returnees, international reporters such as those assigned by the Council of Europe report positive developments in the region. Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly, Humanitarian Situation of the Displaced Kurdish Population in Turkey, Doc No. 9391 (22 Mar. 2002).
54. See Turkey's Failed Policy to Aid the Forcibly Displaced in the Southeast, 8 Human Rights Watch (June 1996), available at www.hrw.org/ reports/1996/Turkey2.htm;
55. Global IDP Project, Country Information Page: Turkey, available at www.db.idpproject.org/Sites/IdpProjectDb/idpSurvey.nsf/wCountries/ Turkey;
56. Immigrants' Association for Social Cooperation and Culture (Goc-Der), The Research and Solution Report on the Socio-Economic and Socio-Cultural Conditions of the Kurdish Citizens Living in the Turkish Republic who are Forcibly Displaced due to Armed-Conflict and Tension Politics: The Problems They Encountered due to Migration and their Tendencies to Return Back to the Villages (2002).
57. Sema Erder, Kentsel Gerilim 151 (1997).
58. Some Kurdish IDPs, especially women, do not speak Turkish, which affects their job opportunities in the city. According to a survey done by GOC-DER, forced migration particularly affected "the citizens of Turkish Republic, whose native language is Kurdish," and there is a significant number of Kurdish IDPs in big Western Anatolian cities who only speak Kurdish (25.4 percent of the 2139 respondents);
59. Goc-Der, supra note 41.
60. Michael Danielson & Ruşen Keleş, The Politics of Rapid Urbanization. The Government and Growth in Modern Turkey (1984).
61. Ayşe Ayata, The Emergence of Identity Politics in Turkey, 17 New Perspectives on Turkey 59, 59-73 (1997).
62. Ali Madanipour, Social Exclusion and Space, in Social Exclusion in European Cities 76 (Ali Madanipour et al. eds., 1998).
63. Id. at 77.
64. See Mooney, supra note 17, at 90.
65. See U.N. Charter, signed 26 June 1945, 59 Stat. 1031, T.S. No. 993, 3 Bevans 1153 (entered into force 24 Oct. 1945).
66. See European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, opened for signature 4 Nov. 1950, 213 U.N.T.S. 221, Europ. T.S. No. 5 (entered into force 3 Sept. 1953) [hereinafter ECHR].
67. See International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted 16 Dec. 1966, G.A. Res. 2200 (XXI), U.N. GAOR, 21st Sess., Supp. No. 16, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171 (entered into force 23 Mar. 1976).
68. Even though the Covenant was prepared in 1966, Turkey signed it on 15 August 2000 together with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Even though the draft was sent to the Assembly for ratification it was later withdrawn. See Tarýk Ziya Ekinci, Avrupa Birlii'nde Azýnlýklarýn Korunmasi Sorunu, Türkiye ve Kürtler (2001).
69. The Council of Europe is an intergovernmental organization that aims to protect human rights, the rule of law, and pluralist democracy and to promote democratic stability in Europe. It has forty-five member states, which, by agreement, bounded themselves to respect the principle of the rule of law, and to guarantee human rights and fundamental freedoms to everyone under their jurisdictions. For further information about the objectives, see the Council of Europe webpage, available at www.coe.int [hereinafter Council of Europe's webpage].
70. Jordan, supra note 1, at 663.
71. ECHR, supra note 50.
72. Until November 1998, this international body examined the admissibility of all individual or state applications against a member state in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights. It expressed an opinion on the violation alleged in applications found to be admissible in cases in which no friendly settlement is reached. See Council of Europe's webpage, supra note 52.
73. Based in Strasbourg, this is the only truly judicial organ established by the European Convention on Human Rights. It is composed of forty-three judges (as of April 2003) and ensures, in the last instance, that contracting states observe their obligations under the Convention. Since November 1998, the Court has operated on a full-time basis. Id. Turkey ratified the ECHR on 18 May 1954 but recognized the right of individual petition on 28 Jan. 1987. See Council of Europe, Turkey and the Council of Europe, available at www.coe.int/T/e/Com/about_coe/ member_states/e_tu.asp#Topofpage.
74. Article 25 of the Convention states that "The Commission may receive petitions ... from any person, nongovernmental organization or group of individuals claiming to be the victim of a violation by one of the High Contracting Parties of the rights set forth in the Convention . . . . those of the High Contracting Parties who have made such a declaration [to recognize individual petition] undertake not to hinder in any way the effective exercise of this right." European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, art. 25, opened for signature 4 Nov. 1950, 213 U.N.T.S. 221, Europ. T.S. No. 5 (entered into force 3 Sept. 1953), available at www.hri.org/docs/ECHR50.html.
75. On 16 June 1994, the Constitutional court banned the pro-Kurdish DEP. Its thirteen deputies were stripped of parliamentary immunity, and seven who did not flee abroad were charged with treason and put in jail. The MPs Türk, Dicle, Doan, Sadak, and Zana were given thirteen-year sentences, and Sakýk received a three-year sentence, based on the claim that they were members of an armed group. The trial and charges against the MPs attracted a great deal of attention from the world's political leaders and media. Many representatives of international nongovernmental organizations came to Turkey to support the MPs. The European Parliament and Amnesty International asked for their release. Yet, the decision was clear: the MPs were found guilty. Exhausting all possible solutions in domestic law, the case was brought to the European Court in 1995 (Case of Sadak and Others v. Turkey, App. No. 27100/95, Eur. Ct. H.R.). Finally, on 17 July 2001, the case was resolved and the Court decided that the State Security Court in Ankara, which tried the MPs was not an "independent and impartial" tribunal and that it violated the principle of fair trial under Article 6 of the European Court of Human Rights. Under Article 41 (just satisfaction) the Court awarded $25,000 to each applicant (namely the four MPs) for damages. After the abolishment of State Security Courts in June 2004, these PMs were released. Interestingly, the release came the same day of first the Kurdish broadcast on a Turkish TV channel. European institutions welcomed these two developments.
76. See specifically application numbers 8803-8811/02 and 8815-8819/02.
77. See 2004 Regular Report on Turkey's Progress Towards Accession, COM(2004)656 final at 50, available at http://europa.eu.int/comm/ enlargement/report_2004/pdf/rr_tr_2004_en.pdf.
78. See ECHR, supra note 50, arts. 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 13, 14, 18.
79. For a detailed analysis of these and other cases, see the Kurdish Human Rights Project's webpage, available at www.khrp.org.
80. Sikkink, supra note 8, at 414.
81. Dilek Kurban, Legal and Practical Evaluation of Turkey's Problem of Internal Displacement (Jan. 2005) (unpublished working paper presented in TESEV's Working Group on Internal Displacement), citing Doǧan and Others v. Turkey, App. Nos. 8803-8811/02, 8813/03, 8815-8819/02 (2004) (Eur. Ct. H.R.).
82. Press Release, European Court of Human Rights, Chamber Judgment in the Case of Doǧan and Others v. Turkey (29 Jun. 2004), available at www.coe.int/T/D/Kommunikation_cd_politische_Forschung/ Presse_cd_Online_Info/Presseinfos/P2004/20040629-GH-Dogan.asp.
83. Council of Europe, supra note 39.
84. See Council of Europe, Recommendation 1150 (1991) on the situation of the Iraqi Kurdish population and other persecuted minorities.
85. See Council of Europe, Recommendation 1377 (1998) Humanitarian situation of the Kurdish refugees and displaced persons in South-Eastern Turkey and Northern Iraq.
86. Council of Europe, supra note 39, at 1.
87. Id.
88. The following information came from the European Union webpage available at www.europa.eu.int (hereafter, the EU webpage).
89. Officially, Turkey's efforts to join the European Community (EC) goes back to 31 July 1959 when it applied to EEC membership immediately after Greece. On 12 September 1963, it signed an Association Agreement with the EC, the Ankara Treaty, to become an associate member. Its association was expanded in 1970, and it applied for full membership on 14 April 1987. The protocol in 1970 laid down basic objectives in Turkey's relations with the EU, such as the continuous and balanced strengthening of trade and economic relations and the establishment, in three phases, of a customs union. Turkey's application for full EC membership was turned down in 1989 with the claim that the country was not ready to become a member. Instead the Commission suggested the operation of the Association Agreement and the realization of a customs union, which became a reality on 6 March 1995 as the Customs Union Agreement (CUA) and put in effect in 1996. See Meltem Müftüler-Baç The Never-Ending Story: Turkey and the European Union, 34 Middle Eastern Stud. 240, 241 (1998). Although the establishment of a customs union between Turkey and the EU awakened hopes on the side of Turkey, on 12 December 1997 during its Luxembourg Summit, the European Council decided not to include Turkey in its enlargement process, after which Turkey reacted severely. Id.
90. European Council in Copenhagen (21-22 Jun. 1993), Conclusions of the Presidency, SN 180/1/93 Rev 1, available at http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/ cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ec/72921.pdf.
91. Also, through the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam in May 1999, the political criteria defined at Copenhagen have been essentially enshrined as a constitutional principle in the Treaty on European Union. See Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union, available at http:/europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/treaties/dat/C_2002325EN.000501.html.
92. These standards include: 1) political standards: stable institutions governing democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights; 2) economic standards: the existence of a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competitive pressure; 3) compatibility standards: the ability to take on the obligations of membership including adherence to the principles of political, economic, and monetary union. See Müftüler-Bac, supra note 70, at 241.
93. European Council in Luxemburg (12-13 Dec. 1997), Presidency Conclusions, Doc/97/ 24, available at http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/ en/ec/032a0008.htm.
94. European Commission, Regular Report from the Commission on Turkey's Progress Toward Accession (1998, 1999, 2000, & 2001).
95. European Union, Agenda 2000.
96. European Council in Helsinki (10-11 Dec. 1999), Presidency Conclusions. Cf. Meltem Müftüler-Baç, Enlarging the European Union: Where Does Turkey Stand? 18 (2002).
97. European Commission, Competition, VI Decision No 1/95 of the EC-Turkey Association Council of 22 December 1995 on implementing the final phase of the Customs Union (CE-TR 106/1/95).
98. The role of the European Parliament became a stronger one with the Article O of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. The Article stated that "Any European State may apply to become a Member of the Union. It shall address its application to the Council, which shall act unanimously after consulting the Commission and after receiving the assent of the European Parliament, which shall act by an absolute majority of its component members (emphasis added) available at www.europarl.eu.int.
99. See generally Turkish Daily News (14 Dec. 1995).
100. Turk. Const. of 1982, Official Gazette, Law No. 2709 (9 Nov. 1982).
101. Anti-Terror Law, No. 3713, art. 8 (Turk.).
102. See also Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, available at www.mfa.gov.tr.
103. See Müftüler-Bac M., supra note 70, at 248-50.
104. See Council of Europe's webpage;
105. Gunter, supra note 33;
106. William Hale & Gamze Avci, Turkey and the European Union: The Long Road to Membership, in Turkey in World Politics: An Emerging Multiregional Power (Bary Rubin & Kemal Kirişçi eds., 2001).
107. Anti-Terror Law, No. 3713, art. 8 (Turk.).
108. Law No. 4126 (Turk.).
109. Decision No. 1/95 of the EC-Turkey Association Council of 22 December 1995 on implementing the final phase of the Customs Union (96/142/EC).
110. The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, was established in December 1985 by the European Parliament as a means to honor individuals or organizations that had dedicated their lives to the defense of human rights and freedom. It is awarded annually on or around 10 December, the day on which the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed.
111. Ihsan D. Daǧi, Insan Haklarý: Küresel Siyaset ve Türkiye 130 (2001).
112. Id.
113. Birol A. Yeşilada, The Worsening of EU-Turkey Relations, 19 SAIS Rev. 1 (1999).
114. Philip Martin et al., Best Practice Options: Turkey, 40 Int'l Migration 123 (2002).
115. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, adopted 21 Dec. 1965, 660 U.N.T.S. 195 (entered into force 4 Jan. 1969), reprinted in 5 I.L.M. 352 (1966). Article 22 reads: "Any dispute between two or more States Parties with respect to the interpretation or application of this Convention, which is not settled by negotiation or by the procedures expressly provided for in this Convention, shall, at the request of any of the parties to the dispute, be referred to the International Court of Justice for decision, unless the disputants agree to another mode of settlement."
116. European Agreement Relating to Persons Participating in Proceedings of the European Court of Human Rights, ETS No. 067, entered into force 17 Apr. 1971, available at http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/en/Treaties/ Html/067.htm.
117. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted 16 Dec. 1966, G.A. Res. 2200 (XXI), U.N. GAOR, 21st Sess., Supp. No. 16, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171 (entered into force 23 Mar. 1976).
118. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted 16 Dec. 1966, G.A. Res. 2200 (XXI), U.N. GAOR, 21st Sess., Supp. No. 16, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 993 U.N.T.S. 3 (entered into force 3 Jan. 1976).
119. Protocol No. 6 to the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, E.T.S. 114, entered into force 1 Mar. 1985, available at www1.umn.edu/humanrts/euro/z25prot6.html.
120. Even though since 1984 there have been no executions exercised in Turkey, the Turkish Penal Code, until recently, provided for the death penalty for nine different offenses: crimes against the territorial integrity of the state, collaboration with a state at war with Turkey, espionage, attempts to overthrow the existing constitutional system by force, armed rebellion against the government, preventing the cabinet from performing its functions, inciting the people to revolt and to kill one another, attempting to assassinate the President, and aggravated homicide. See Criminal Law No. 765 (1 Mar. 1926) (Turk.).
121. The GNAT passed the resolution to abolish capital punishment and to replace it with life imprisonment without remission on 3 August 2002, and signed Protocol 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. See Law No. 5218 (14 July 2004) (Turk.).
122. Commission of the European Communities, Communication from the Commission to the Council, Strengthening the Accession Strategy for Turkey, Brussels 2003. See also www.abhaber.com.
123. Copenhagen European Council (12-13 Dec. 2002), Presidency Conclusions, Doc. No. 15917/02, available at http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/ pressData/en/ec/73842.pdf.
124. Brussels European Council (16-17 Dec. 2004), Presidency Conclusions, Doc. No. 16238/1/04 Rev. 1, available at http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/ cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ec/83201.pdf.
125. The National Program for the Adoption of the Acquis (adopted on 8 Mar. 2001) used the phrase "teaching in native language" rather than education in native language as foreseen by the accession partnership. Even though the new article allows learning Kurdish (and other mother tongues and accents) in private courses and broadcasting in Kurdish, the state will still be able to exercise strict control in such areas. For example, the Kurdish TV programs will only be broadcasted by public television and will be limited in content. Article 4 (as amended by the Law No. 4756 on 21 May 2002 and by Law No. 4771 on 9 Aug. 2002) of the Law of the Radio and Television Supreme Council states that there may be broadcasts in the different languages and dialects used traditionally by Turkish citizens in their daily lives.
126. The Lausanne Treaty signed between the occupying allies and Turkey in 1923, which shaped the legal foundations of the new Turkish Republic, registered only non-Muslim groups such as Greeks, Armenians, and Jews as recognized minorities.
127. There are two regions affected by the conflict, but the schools opened in two cities in one of the regions affected by the conflict. In Turkey, region is an administrative unit (like a city).
128. Press Release, Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the CFSP, Welcomes the Release of Leyla Zana by Turkish Authorities (9 Jun. 2004), Doc. No. S0162/04, available at http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/ pressData/en/declarations/80900.pdf.
129. Law of the Radio and Television Supreme Council, art. 4, as amended by Law No. 4756 (21 May 2002)
130. and Law No. 4771 (9 August 2002), available at www.rtuk.org.tr.
131. Presentation to OSCE: Kurds as a National Minority in Turkey, Kurdish Human Rights Project Newsline, Winter 2004, at 3, available at www.khrp.org/newsline/newsline28/newsline28.pdf.
132. The village guard system was established by the state in 1985 (Law on Villages, Law No. 3162; Law No. 442). Law No. 442 asked for the establishment of the village guard system "to protect the integrity, life and property of everybody." It was composed of around 60,000 civilian pro-government Kurdish militias guarding against the PKK in the conflict-affected regions. See also various newsletters available on the Göç-Der website, available at www.gocder.com.
133. Law on Compensation for Damage Arising From Terror and Combating Terror, Law No. 5233, in Official Gazette No. 25535 (17 July 2004), put in force 4 October 2004.
134. Deniz Yukseker, Latest Situation in the Problem of Internal Displacement in Diyarbakιr: Problems Arising from Internal Displacement and Implementation of Law No: 5233 (Feb. 2005) (unpublished working paper presented in TESEV's Working Group on Internal Displacement).
135. Press Release, United Nations Development Programme, Representative of the UN Secretary General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons Sees New Hope for the Internally Displaced Persons in Turkey (9 May 2005), available at www.undp.org.tr/PressRelease_9may05.asp.
136. Commission of the European Communities, 2004 Regular Report on Turkey's Progress Towards Accession, COM(2004)656 final at 51, available at http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/report_2004/pdf/rr_tr_2004_en.pdf.
137. Id. at 20.
138. Dilek Kurban, Note, Confronting Equality: The Need for Constitutional Protection of Minorities on Turkey's Path to the European Union, 35 Colum. Hum. Rts. L. Rev. 151, 195 (2003).
139. Sikkink, supra note 8, at 415.
140. Id. at 437.
141. Jordan, supra note 1.