Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1989
TURKEY
.
Turkey is a republic with a multiparty parliamentary system
and a relatively strong presidency. The Grand National
Assembly elected Prime Minister Turgut Ozal as President to
succeed Kenan Evren in November. Yildirim Akbulut of the
right-of-center Motherland Party, which won a 5-year mandate
in national elections in 1987, became Prime Minister. In
nationwide municipal elections held in March, the Motherland
Party obtained 21 percent of the vote. Opposition parties
have so far called unsuccessfully for early elections.
The Turkish National Police in the cities and the Jandarma in
the countryside are responsible for maintaining public order.
A legal "state of emergency" continues to exist in eight
provinces in the southeast, where the Turkish Government is
combatting Kurdish terrorists. The state of emergency allows
the civilian governors to exercise certain quasi-martial law
powers.
Turkey has a mixed economy with state-owned, publicly owned,
and privately owned companies and a significant agricultural
sector. The Government has liberalized the economy in recent
years and given it a strong, free market, export orientation.
Approximately 80 percent of 1989 exports were industrial
goods. After several years of rapid growth, the economy has
stalled, and the gross national product grew at a rate of less
than 1 percent in 1989. Unemployment, running at approximately
15 percent, and inflation, which climbed to an annual rate of
75 percent in 1989, remain serious problems.
Although Turkey in 1988 ratified the United Nations and the
European Conventions Against Torture, continuing instances of
torture were the principal human rights problem in 1989.
Other concerns included restrictions on incommunicado
detention, use of excessive force against noncombatants in
efforts to suppress Kurdish terrorists, freedom of expression,
and various forms of discrimination against Kurds. Charges of
torture persisted. Almost always, they arose out of police
interrogations that took place during preliminary
investigations when suspects were held in incommunicado
detention and before they had been allowed access to counsel.
Draft legislation introduced in September to allow detainees
access to legal counsel within 24 hours was preempted by a
Prime Ministry circular ordering detainee access to attorneys,
but most detainees do not receive immediate access in
practice. Also in September, the Government submitted a bill
to Parliament which would shorten the time a detainee may be
held for investigatory interrogation. In November, the main
opposition Social Democratic Populist Party submitted to
Parliament draft legislation to repeal Articles 141, 142, and
163 (so-called thought crimes). The Justice Committee is
currently considering it. At year's end, the Government was
edging toward its own proposal to amend these three articles.
The Government may ease some provisions but now appears
unlikely to support full repeal. The Government announced its
intention to consult with the two opposition parties
represented in Parliament while drafting a proposal. The
Government also announced that it would accept decisions of
the European Court of Human Rights without reservation.
The press is active and criticizes the Government vigorously.
But certain penal code articles and laws restrict full freedom
of expression, both for individual persons and the press. In
December President Ozal acknowledged publicly the need to
change these laws but said time is needed to develop a
national consensus. Prosecutors continue to apply these laws
aggressively although court decisions in general continue to
expand the scope of press and individual freedom of
expression. Women enjoy full legal equality with men but
continue to be subject to economic and other discrimination
owing to traditional social attitudes.
The Government rejects the assertion of a separate cultural
identity for Muslim groups, such as those of Kurdish ethnic
origin. Publishing materials in Kurdish or writing about
Kurdish history is prohibited and has resulted in
imprisonment, and entertainers have been arrested for singing
Kurdish songs in public performances. However, political
leaders and the Parliament are now discussing Kurdish issues
more openly. Parliamentarians of all parties, including some
members of the ruling Motherland Party, have called for easing
restrictions on speaking Kurdish and expressions of Kurdish
culture. The opposition Social Democratic Populist Party
introduced a repeal bill to Parliament in November, but no
action had been taken by year's end.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no known politically motivated, unlawful killings
instigated by government or political opposition groups.
There have been allegations of death by torture of detainees
in police custody (see Section I.e.), Kurdish terrorists
active in the southeast murdered numerous fellow Turks of
Kurdish origin; and Jandarma searches for Kurdish Workers
Party (PKK) terrorists are alleged to have resulted in
expulsions, beatings, torture, and arbitrary killings of
innocent civilians (see Section l.d.).
b. Disappearance
There were no known disappearances caused by government forces.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Article 17 of the 1982 Turkish Constitution states that "no
one shall be subjected to torture or ill treatment
incompatible with human dignity." In 1988 Turkey ratified
both the Council of Europe Convention for the Prevention of
Torture and the U.N. Convention Against Torture. However,
credible allegations of torture continued in 1989. A
carefully researched report by the New York Bar Association in
1989 concluded that torture was widespread in Turkish police
stations and that the Government thus far has taken only
limited steps to implement its obligations under pertinent
international conventions. Suspects in common and political
crimes frequently appear to be tortured by the police during
initial interrogations while held incommunicado. Critics and
former detainees accused the police of employing such methods
as beatings on the soles of the feet, cold water hoses,
electric shocks, and hanging by the arms. Where torture did
not occur, they charged that beatings and psychological abuse
were common. Contacts with former detainees and others
indicate that these sorts of abuse did, in fact, occur.
Allegations of torture are difficult to prove or disprove
since government-ordered medical examinations generally take
place after signs of abuse would have disappeared. The Ankara
Medical Association in June banned one doctor for 6 months
because she had allegedly issued certificates saying detainees
had not been tortured, when in fact they had.
In September the parliamentary Justice Committee, with the aid
of experts from the Ministry of Justice, initiated draft
legislation which could effectively eliminate the practice of
incommunicado detention by allowing detainees prompt access to
legal counsel and by permitting lawyers to be present during
police interrogations. In September a Prime Ministry circular
ordered prosecutors to allow detainees immediate access to
counsel. According to the circular, suspects detained for
individual crimes are allowed access to an attorney within 24
hours, and those detained for collective crimes are allowed
such access within 48 hours. Thus far, few detainees have
benefited from the circular because, in practice, the
prosecutor's office must approve the suspect's request to see
an attorney. In October the Ministry of Justice clarified the
circular—although to what effect is unclear--stating that
prosecutors should not deny detainees' requests to meet with
their attorneys.
In September the Council of Ministers introduced a hill in
Parliament to reduce the period a suspect could be detained
prior to formal arraignment in State Security Court and
criminal court cases from 15 to a maximum of 10 days. In
"collective" or group conspiracy crimes, detention would last
4 days, extendable up to 10 days if requested by the
prosecutor. Those accused of individual crimes could be held
only 48 hours. The proposal would not take effect in the
eight southeastern provinces currently under a state of
emergency. Here authorities could continue to hold detainees
up to 30 days. The Government also announced it would accept
the European Court of Human Rights' decisions without
reservation.
Government officials in 1989 still asserted that torture was
neither widespread nor systematic. Compared to the nature and
number of torture allegations, however, the number of actual
prosecutions was low and the sentences disproportionately
mild. In October two police officials from Hatay were
sentenced to prison terms of 4 years and 3 months for a
torture-death in 1985. Accused officials are generally
allowed to work and draw salaries until convicted, and they
may benefit from the Turkish law that reduces all sentences by
one-third for good behavior.
It is unclear how many, if any, people died of torture during
1989. In one claim filed with the Turkish Human Rights
Association, the petitioners asserted that Adem Satilmis,
accused of theft, died in the Ankara Central Prison on May 30
as a result of torture administered in the course of an
interrogation the week before. The examining doctor's report
noted that the cause of death was "suspicious."
In February the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, trying to refute
Amnesty International claims that more than 100 people died of
torture while being detained in Turkish prisons in the 1980's,
issued a statement that police had found evidence of torture
in "only" 32 deaths, 3 of which occurred in 1988. In a later
clarification, it declared that "only" 14 deaths could be
ascribed to torture, though investigation into 12 other cases
was continuing.
Torture is not practiced in Turkey's prisons. However,
Jandarma and guards have beaten prisoners in the course of
searches, particularly following the discovery of escape
tunnels. Two prisoners who had been participating in an
organized hunger strike died in the course of being
transferred to another prison. The authorities ascribed their
deaths to dehydration, but others allege the two had been
beaten.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Except in limited circumstances, such as when a person is
caught in the act of committing a crime, a prosecutor must
issue a detention order. This can lead to 15 days of
detention under present legislation. In provinces under a
state of emergency (currently 8 in the southeast), the
detention period may be extended to 30 days. Once formally
charged, a detainee is arraigned before a judge and allowed to
retain a lawyer.
Under existing legislation, a detainee's next of kin must
normally be notified "in the shortest time" after arrest. A
detainee does not have the right to bail; the arraigning judge
may release the accused on presentation of an appropriate
guarantee or order him held in preventive detention if the
court determines that he is likely to flee or destroy evidence.
The Constitution specifies the right of detainees to request
"speedy conclusion of arraignment and trial." Nevertheless,
judges have ordered a significant number of persons detained
while their cases progress, sometimes for a number of years.
While many cases involve persons accused of violent crimes,
others involve simple membership in illegal organizations.
There is no formal external exile. The Government has refused
to renew the passports of a number of Turks working abroad who
have refused to return home to face court charges or perform
military service. These persons may apply to the Interior
Ministry for permission to return to Turkey. Internal exile
is legal but is rarely invoked.
With regard to forced or compulsory labor, see Section 6.c.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Turkish court system and judicial procedures are modeled
on Italian (criminal) and Swiss (civil) law codes. Defendants
normally have the right to an open trial.
The Constitution declares that judges shall be independent in
the discharge of their duties and provides for the security of
their tenure. It also prohibits authorities from giving
orders or recommendations concerning the exercise of judicial
power. In many instances, charges brought by the prosecutors
are dismissed by the courts.
Eight state security courts try defendants accused of
terrorism or other offenses against the security of the State,
including drug smuggling and membership in an illegal
organization. The same standards of evidence and general
rules of procedure are required as in ordinary courts. A
conviction or acquittal in either system may be appealed. If
an appeals court overturns a lower court's guilty verdict, the
case is sent back to the lower courts for reconsideration. If
the lower court insists on its original verdict, the case is
returned to the appeals court for a binding opinion. The
court provides counsel for indigents in all cases.
In some cases, particularly capital cases, appeals to the
Supreme Court or to the High Court of Military Appeals are
mandatory and automatic. If a death sentence is confirmed by
an appeals court, it must be approved by the Council of
Ministers, then by the Parliament, and finally by the
President. No death sentence has been carried out since 1984.
Two martial law courts in Istanbul and Ankara are still
conducting trials relating to arrests made during the martial
law regime following the 1980 military takeover of power.
Most of these arrests date from the early 1980"s. At least
one mass trial involving Dev-Sol (Revolutionary Left), with
1,400 defendants, is still continuing in Istanbul. The total
number of defendants in detention being tried or awaiting
trial in the martial law courts probably numbers several
thousand.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The Constitution provides for the inviolability of a person's
domicile and the privacy of correspondence and communication.
Government officials may enter a private residence and
intercept or monitor private correspondence only upon issuance
of a judicial warrant.
In the eight provinces under a state of emergency, the
governor (or regional governor) may empower authorities to
search residences or the premises of political parties,
businesses, associations, and other organizations without a
warrant. Authorities may also search, hold, or seize without
warrant persons, letters, telegrams, and documents. There is
some evidence that these powers have been used for political
purposes, particularly against activists involved in
opposition parties and the labor movement.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Violations of Humanitarian Law in Internal Conflicts
Since 1984 several thousand violent Kurdish separatists,
mostly members of the illegal PKK, have conducted a campaign
of terrorism in southeast Turkey against security forces as
well as against fellow Turks of Kurdish origin who do not
support them. According to November government figures, 193
security force members and 326 civilians have been killed in
terrorist incidents in the southeast since July 1987. In the
same period, security forces killed 308 terrorists. The
summer of 1989 saw an expansion of PKK activity, despite
extensive security operations and government efforts to create
better economic conditions for the inhabitants of the region.
Attempts by security forces to evacuate some villages in order
to facilitate operations were halted after well-publicized
public outcries. Other villagers claimed that the activities
of both the PKK and government security forces compelled them
to leave their homes. Villagers complain that Jandarma
searches for PKK terrorists and for evidence of local support
for them have resulted in expulsions, beatings, torture, and
arbitrary killings of innocent civilians. In January
villagers in Yesilyurt in southeastern Turkey accused Jandarma
members of having tortured them and having forced them to eat
human excrement. A Jandarma major is currently on trial for
his involvement in this incident.
In July opposition Social Democrat Populist Party deputy Fuat
Atalay and the victim's family claimed that Osman Esendemir, a
villager from Siirt province suspected of being a PKK member,
had been tortured and killed by village guards under the
command of local security forces.
In August the governor of a province under a legal state of
emergency expelled eight people from the area for a period of
up to 3 months. The action was extensively reported and
criticized in the print media; the regional governor affirmed
that it is unlikely this power will be invoked again and
suggested the length of expulsion might be reduced.
In September the Government opened an investigation into the
killing of six villagers by security forces near Silopi in
southeastern Turkey. Villagers claimed that the six were
innocent and not PKK terrorists as the security forces claimed.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
Turks are generally free to speak their mind. The press,
which is in private hands and which reflects a wide spectrum
of opinion, does not hesitate to criticize the Government.
There is no government newspaper; all papers reflect
opposition views to a greater or lesser extent.
Nonetheless, a number of restrictions on freedom of speech
exist. The criminal code has longstanding prohibitions on
speech or writing considered threatening to the democratic and
secular system of government and the security of the State.
These proscriptions apply to: advocacy or activities on
behalf of a government based on class or racial domination
(e.g., communism or fascism); the establishment of a
theocratic state (e.g.. Islamic fundamentalism); or the
creation of a separate state on ethnic lines (e.g., Kurdish
separatism) . Violations of these articles may result in the
death penalty, although in practice no one has been sentenced
to death in recent years for violating Articles 141, 142, or
163. A government-sponsored bill in Parliament in September
proposed that the death penalty no longer apply to such
offenses.
While it is permissible to criticize government leaders or
policies, the criminal code also provides penalties for those
who "insult the President, the Parliament, and the Army,"
ranging from a 3-year minimum sentence for insulting the
President to a 6-year maximum for insulting the other branches
of government. Judges have generally been rigorous in
examining the evidence and have dismissed many charges brought
under these laws, but aggressive application of the law by
prosecutors has resulted in arrest and long and expensive
trials in many cases.
Public prosecutors have used these laws to harass dissidents,
real or imagined. To cite one example, a 15-year-old high
school student was detained for 3 months on a charge of having
spread "Communist propaganda" by drawing a Soviet flag and
writing "long live the workers" in his school notebook. The
prosecutor asked for a sentence of 7 1/2 to 15 years. The
student was acquitted by a court in October, but only after
missing a year of school.
Publications must designate a "responsible editor" who is
legally accountable for a publication's contents. Many have
faced repeated criminal proceedings. Fatma Yazici, one-time
responsible editor for the leftist magazine, Toward the Year
Two Thousand, was sentenced in absentia to 6 years and 3
months in prison for publishing an article entitled "Decisions
of the Kurdish Workers Party Conference." Ms. Yazici faces a
total of 17 1/2 years* imprisonment for four convictions
related to her editorial activities. She has not surrendered
for sentencing and is presumed to have gone into hiding. On
the other hand, the Istanbul State Security Court acquitted
Milliyet reporter Mehmet Ali Birand and responsible editor
Eren Guvener in April for having published a series of
interviews in Syria with PKK leaders.
Obscenity laws have resulted in the confiscation and banning
of numerous publications and films, among them a Turkish
reissue of Henry Miller's "Tropic of Capricorn." Libel laws
have halted newspaper articles critical of government leaders,
including a series highly critical of then Prime Minister Ozal
that appeared in the mass-circulation newspaper Sabah in
April. At the same time, an equally critical book on the then
Prime Minister has headed the Turkish bestseller list during
the past year.
The number of people held under laws restricting speech and
political activities is difficult to estimate but may total
5,000 at the current time. Further breakdowns are difficult
to obtain. Some are held or convicted for their writings or
ideas; others are held under these laws for being members of
proscribed organizations or acting upon their ideas in a way
deemed detrimental to the security of the State. According to
a newspaper article appearing in February, 26 editors were
currently serving sentences, and 2,792 writers, translators,
and journalists had been prosecuted since the Motherland Party
came to power in 1983. The vast majority of those held under
these laws are leftist, but a number of rightwingers
,
generally religious conservatives, are being held as well.
Turkish radio and television (TRT) is a government monopoly.
Opposition figures and many of their supporters believe that
TRT's broadcasts and news coverage have a strong progovernment
bias, despite coverage of opposition leaders and their
parties. A government commission apportions party access to
television and radio during election and referendum campaigns
based on the percentage of parliamentary seats each party
holds. Works of certain leftist writers and Kurdish
performers are said to be banned from broadcast on TRT for
political or cultural reasons.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Peaceful assemblies are permitted with prior approval from the
authorities. Requests for such assemblies are generally
granted, but assemblies are restricted to sites chosen by the
authorities.
The law on associations reflects concern over the involvement
of some organizations in the violence which preceded the
military intervention of 1980. It prohibits associations from
having ties to political parties or engaging in politicallUEKEX
activity. Associations must submit their charters for
government approval before they are allowed to form.
The Constitution and the law governing political parties
proscribe student and faculty involvement in political
activities. Political parties may not form youth branches.
Students and professors, however, may participate in politics
and political parties as individuals, and a number of
academicians have been elected to Parliament.
For a discussion of freedom of association as it applies to
labor unions, see Section 6. a.
c. Freedom of Religion
Turkey is a secular state. The Constitution provides for
freedom of belief, freedom of worship (if in a public
building, the building must be specifically designated for
this purpose and approved of by the State) , and private
dissemination of one's religious ideas.
Turkey's population is overwhelmingly Muslim. Although Turkey
is a secular state, religious instruction, heavily weighted
toward Islamic prayer rituals, is compulsory for all students,
Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Prosecutors view proselytization and religious activism on the
part of Islamic fundamentalists and Christian evangelicals
with suspicion, especially when their activities are seen to
have political overtones. Islamic fundamentalists have been
charged with membership in illegal organizations or advocating
a theocratic state. Courts dismissed all charges brought
against Turkish and foreign evangelical Christians in 1988.
The police, nevertheless, have on occasion refused to renew
evangelicals' residence permits or have taken steps to expel
them from the country.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Turkish citizens enjoy freedom of movement within Turkey and
are generally free to travel abroad. The Constitution
provides that a citizen's freedom to leave may be restricted
on account of the national economic situation, civic
obligations (generally military service), or criminal
investigation or prosecution.
During the spring and summer of 1989, Turkey generously
accepted an influx of over 300,000 Bulgarian Turks escaping a
forcible assimilation policy in Bulgaria that denied them the
right to use their names, their language, and their cultural
identity. Turkey has pledged to receive and resettle, over
time, all such people coming from Bulgaria. At year's end
about 70,000 had returned to Bulgaria. Some 35,000 Iraqi
Kurdish refugees who arrived in the late summer of 1988 remain
in camps in the southeast. Of the 60,000 Iraqi Kurds who
originally came, a few thousand have returned to Iraq; over
20,000 went to Iran; and slightly over 300 have been resettled
in France. Several hundred thousand Iranians remain in
Turkey. Turkey serves as a de facto country of first asylum
and safe haven for many of them; it neither grants them legal
refugee status nor requires visas.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Turkish citizens have the right and ability to change their
government peacefully, within certain legal constraints.
Turkey has a multiparty, presidential parliamentary system.
Three partie.s are represented in Parliament: the governing
Motherland Party, and the opposition Social Democratic
Populist and the Correct Way parties. The opposition parties
are vigorous and outspoken. Elections for public office are
on the basis of mandatory universal suffrage for those over 21
and a secret ballot.
Turkey's President is elected by Parliament for a single
7-year term. Prime Minister Turgut Ozal was elected President
on October 31, 1989.
Parliamentary seats are allocated on a weighted proportional
representation basis. Under a "barrage" system, the Turkish
election law excludes parties obtaining less than 10 percent
of the total national vote. This measure is intended to
prevent political fragmentation and recurrence of the
parliamentary paralysis of the late 1970's. The law is
designed to allow a party which obtains a plurality of the
popular vote to obtain a strong majority in Parliament. In
the November 1987 parliamentary elections, a 36-percent
plurality of the popular vote gave Prime Minister Ozal's
Motherland Party 292 seats (65 percent) in the 450-member
unicameral Parliament.
The Constitution provides equal political rights for men and
women. Members of minorities, Muslim and non-Muslim, face no
legal limitations on political participation.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
There are no restrictions placed on representatives of private
organizations who wish to monitor human rights in Turkey.
They are free to speak with private citizens. The Government
continues to be ambivalent toward these groups because of its
belief that their reports are biased. Consequently, access to
government officials or facilities may be refused or
restricted. The Government refused to cooperate with a visit
by Helsinki Watch representatives investigating Turkish prison
conditions in March, but cooperated with a visit in May by a
delegation from the New York City Bar Association
investigating Turkey's compliance with the U.N. Convention
Against Torture.
A nongovernmental Human Rights Association, officially
approved in 1987, has branches in provincial cities and
organizes discussions, publications, rallies, and petitions.
The Social Democratic Populist Party, the principal opposition
party, has a human rights committee and has actively pursued
human rights issues in Parliament. Members of the main
rightwing opposition party, the Correct Way Party, as well as
leading figures in the ruling Motherland Party, have also
spoken out against human rights abuses.
Under the European and U.N. Conventions against Torture, which
Turkey has ratified, committees or rapporteurs are allowed to
visit all places of detention at any time, following
notification to the Government. In August Senators DeConcini
and Lautenberg of the U.S. Commission of the Conference on
Security and Cooperation in Europe visited a prison in Ankara
and interviewed a number of prisoners.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Language, or Social Status
The Constitution proclaims Turkey to be a secular state,
regards all Turkish citizens as equal, and prohibits
discrimination on ethnic, religious, or racial grounds. The
Treaty of Lausanne also guarantees the rights of Turkey's
non-Muslim minorities. Among the non-Muslim religious groups,
there are some 50,000 Armenians, 20,000 Jews, 20,000 Syriac
Christians, 18,000 Arab Orthodox, 6,000 Greek Orthodox, and
several thousand Roman Catholics and Chaldean Christians.
Members of these minorities are heavily represented in
business and the professions. These groups operate churches,
monasteries, synagogues, schools, and charitable religious
foundations, such as hospitals and orphanages, but have faced
a number of restrictive bureaucratic policies and procedures
governing their activities and institutions. The expropriation
of church buildings and church-owned property, largely by
municipal governments, has been a serious problem for several
Christian communities in Hatay Province.
Since the attempted Allied partition of Turkey and a number of
tribal rebellions in the eastern part of the country during
and following the First World War, Turkish governments,
beginning with Ataturk, have sought to assimilate the
country's various ethnic groups into the mainstream of Turkish
society. As a result, a variety of Turkish laws and practices
make it difficult, especially for Muslim ethnic or sectarian
minorities, to maintain fully distinct or separate identities
within Turkish society. The Government believes that to
permit such groups as the Kurds to do so could eventually
bring the unity of the State into question. For the
Government, the violent separatist demands of PKK terrorists
dramatize such a threat.
Millions of Turkish Kurds have emigrated to industrialized
cities in the western part of the country and are fully
integrated into the political, economic, and social life of
the nation. Most parliamentary representatives from
southeastern Turkey are ethnic Kurds, whatever their party
affiliation. So are a number of ministers, including Interior
Minister Abdulkadir Aksu and State Minister Kamran Inan.
While Prime Minister, President Ozal publicly referred to his
Kurdish background.
Nevertheless, the Government's pursuit of full assimiliation
has led to the proscription of the publication of any book,
newpaper, or other material in the Kurdish language. Neither
are materials dealing with Kurdish history, culture, and
ethnic identity permitted, and there have been instances of
the arrest of entertainers for singing songs or performing in
Kurdish. While some forms of cultural activity are permitted,
the foregoing limits on cultural expression are a source of
genuine discontent to many Turks of Kurdish origin,
particularly in the economically less developed southeast,
where they are in the majority.
There are no restrictions on the private use of Kurdish, and
the regional governor of the southeast affirmed several times
during 1989 that the use of Kurdish does not connote
"separatism." In 1988 the Government began to permit
Kurdish-speaking prisoners to converse in Kurdish with their
lawyers or visitors. However, court proceedings still must be
conducted in Turkish, and the poor quality of court-provided
translators sometimes disadvantages Kurdish defendants. The
opposition Social Democrat Populist Party submitted a bill to
Parliament that would eliminate restrictions on the use of
Kurdish, including in publications, but at year's end
prospects for its passage were poor.
The Government has long been a leader in promoting and
protecting women's rights. Turkish women are accorded equal
economic opportunity, and urban middle-class women benefit
from a strong tradition of work outside the home. At the same
time, poor women and those living in lural areas are more
likely to be bound by discrimination based on tradition.
Their marriage and property rights are guaranteed by laws
based on the Swiss Civil CoJe. However, in many parts of
Turkey, laws requiring civil marriage are ignored, and
polygamy, under the form of Islamic marriage, is accepted but
rarely practiced.
Violence against women, especially wife beating, is not
uncommon. The police normally do not intervene in domestic
disputes. Turks of either sex may file civil or criminal
charges but rarely try to resolve family disputes in court.
Turkish law makes no discrimination between the sexes in laws
concerning violence or abuse, and courts make no distinction
between men and women.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
Most workers has^e the right to associate freely and form
representative unions. Exceptions are public school teachers,
civil servants, the police, and military personnel. The law
prescribes that unions and confederations may be founded
without prior authorization on the basis of a petition to the
governor of the province where the union's headquarters are to
be located.
Unions are independent of the Government and ruling party,
however, unions, like other organizations, must have
government permission to hold meetings or rallies. Unions
must also allow the police to attend conventions and record
the proceedings. Union officers may serve no more than eight
consecutive 3-year terms in a given union position. The
Constitution requires candidates for union office to have
worked 10 years in the industry represented by the union. The
Government protects the person and property of trade unionists,
The 1988 amendments to the 1983 labor law clarified the right
of unions and their officers to express views on issues
directly affecting members' economic and social interests, but
did not undo constitutional prohibitions on any union role in
party politics. Unions may not establish organic or financial
connections with any political party or other association. In
practice, union leaders and the executive board of the Turkish
Confederation of Labor (Turk-Is) have been able to convey
clearly in election and referendum campaigns their support
for, or opposition to, given political parties without,
however, citing parties or candidates by name.
The Government may not summarily dissolve a union.
Prosecutors may request labor courts to order a trade union or
confederation into liquidation only if the union has violated
specified legal norms.
Except in stipulated industries such as public utilities, the
petroleum sector, life and property protective services,
sanitation services, and national defense, workers have the
right to strike. Turkish law and the labor court system,
however, require collective bargaining before a strike. The
law specifies a series of steps a union must take before it
may legally strike and a similar series of steps before an
employer may engage in a lockout. Nonbinding mediation is the
last of those steps. In those sectors in which strikes are
prohibited, binding arbitration is the last step.
Once a strike is declared, unions are restricted in the
actions pickets may take as well as the number of pickets they
may place at each entrance and exit of a strike site. The
struck employer may respond with a lockout. However, the
employer is prohibited from hiring strikebreakers or using
administrative personnel to perform jobs normally done by
strikers. Unions are forbidden to engage in secondary
(solidarity) strikes, wildcat strikes or general strikes.
In 1989 there were more than 118 strikes in Turkey involving
some 35,000 workers. All were peaceful, and most were
resolved by wage and benefit settlements approximating or
exceeding Turkey's inflation rate of about 73.5 percent.
There were two particularly long strikes, one for 130 days by
about 10,200 workers against state papermaking enterprises,
which was settled in January 1989; and a 137-day strike by
some 22,000 workers against two state-owned steel mills,
settled in September. These two long strikes contributed to a
new Turkish record of over 2,000,000 lost worker-days in 1989.
Unions may form or join confederations and international
bodies. The law requires governmental approval to do so and
prohibits affiliations with organs hostile to Turkey or to
freedom of religion or belief. Turk-Is, the major Turkish
labor confederation, has 32 affiliates with a total of some
1.5 million workers. Turk-Is is affiliated with the
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the
European Trade Union Confederation. There are a number of
smaller confederations, the most important of which is
religiously oriented Hak-Is, comprised of approximately
170,000 workers in 6 unions in various fields. Independent
unions also exist, for example, that of the steelworkers and
the still larger automobile workers' union.
At its 1989 sessions, the Committee on Freedom of Association
(CFA) of the International Labor Organization (ILO)
extensively reconsidered the several cases filed against the
Government alleging violations of ILO Convention 87 on Freedom
of Association. The cases, some of which go back to 1981,
concern the dissolution of the trade union DISK and its
affiliates and the trial and imprisonment of their leaders;
certain provisions of the Turkish Constititution and labor
laws which the CFA contends violate worker rights; and a more
recent complaint involving pending charges against the
President of the Turkish Automobile Workers' Union. Noting
that the Government continues to cooperate in the proceedings,
the CFA requested, among other things, that the Government
expedite a decision on the appeals of the DISK defendants;
modify the offending provisions of the Constititution and
laws; and provide details of the charges against the
automobile union president.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
All industrial workers have the right to organize and bargain
collectively, and most industrial activity and some public
sector agricultural activities are organized. The law
requires that, in order to become a bargaining agent, a union
must have 10 percent of the workers in a given industry as
members as well as 50 percent plus one of the workers at a
given work site. This has the effect of favoring established
unions. There is no agent election; the union submits its
membership roll to the Labor Ministry and requests
certification as the collective bargaining agent. Once
certified, the union receives checkoff privileges, and
compensatory payment from nonunion members. The employer must
enter good-faith negotiations with the certified union.
In June the ILO Conference approved a special paragraph citing
Turkey for violation of ILO Convention 111, which forbids
discrimination against any particular class of workers (i.e.,
teachers). Under Turkish law, teachers employed by the State
may not organize.
Organization and collective bargaining are permitted in newly
established, duty-free zones at Mersin and Antalya, but
workers in those zones will not be allowed to strike until
1994 (10 years after the zones were legally established).
Until that date, settlements not otherwise reached will be
determined by binding arbitration. Workers in firms within
these zones are paid in foreign exchange rather than in
Turkish currency, giving them a hedge against inflation as the
Turkish currency depreciates.
In its 1989 report, the ILO Committee of Experts asserted that
provisions of Turkish law requiring a union to organize a
certain percentage of workers in order to negotiate an
agreement, and giving the Government authority to postpone a
strike and impose compulsory arbitration, are incompatible
with Convention 98 on collective bargaining. The Committee
asked the Government to indicate what measures had been taken
to bring the legislation into compliance.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Compulsory labor is prohibited by the Constitution and
statutes, and it is not practiced.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The Constitution and labor laws forbid employment of children
younger than 15 years of age. The Constitution also prohibits
women and children from engaging in physically demanding jobs,
such as underground mining, and from working at night. The
laws are effectively enforced in the organized industrial area.
In practice, however, many children work in Turkey. Families
frequently need the supplementary income their children can
earn. Many young boys shine shoes and peddle sesame rolls and
sandwiches on city streets. In family-owned businesses such
as restaurants, boys visibly younger than 15 work long hours,
for example, as busboys. In addition, there is an informal
and essentially unsupervised apprentice system in which young
boys work at low wages, e.g., in auto repair shops, in hopes
of learning a trade. Girls are rarely seen in public in work
circumstances, but many are kept out of school to work on
indoor handicrafts, such as rug weaving, especially in rural
areas.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The Labor Ministry is legally obliged to set minimum wages at
least every 2 years, through a minimum wage board. The latter
is a tripartite government-industry-union body. On August 1,
Turkey's minimum wage was increased to the equivalent of just
over $100 monthly at the mid-September exchange rate. The
previous minimum wage was $56 for industrial workers and $52
for agricultural workers; this year's changes established a
unified rate for both categories. Minimum wage workers take
home roughly $64 per month. The minimum wage is effectively
enforced.
Without support from other sources, it would be difficult for
a single worker and impossible for a family to live only on
the minimum wage. The minimum wage is generally paid to
persons new to the work force or providing temporary or parttime
services. Most workers earn considerably more. It
should also be noted that workers receive a hot meal daily (or
a food allowance), transportation to and from work, a fuel
allowance, and other fringe benefits which, according to the
Turkish Employers Association, make basic wages alone only
about 36 percent of total remuneration.
Labor law provides for a nominal 45-hour workweek and mandates
a right to leisure. Most unions have bargained for fewer
hours in the workweek, both to increase premium-pay overtime
and to obtain more leisure time. Labor law limits the number
of overtime hours a worker may be required to work to 3 hours
a day for up to 90 days in a year.
Occupational safety and health regulations are mandated by
law, but the Government has not carried out an effective
inspection and enforcement program. In practice, financial
constraints, limited safety awareness, carelessness, and
fatalistic attitudes result in scant attention to occupational
safety and health by workers and employers alike
