The resurgence of the constitutional amendment issue submitted by the People's Alliance to the Turkish Grand National Assembly last December, ostensibly aimed at ensuring 'freedom for the headscarf,' has been one of the most notable political events in the past two weeks. The AKP, in collaboration with the MHP, lacks sufficient parliamentary seats to pass a constitutional amendment without a referendum. In response, they called for a 'right-wing alliance,' seeking support from other right-wing and conservative parties expected to back the amendment. However, it appears that this call, which excludes the CHP, did not receive approval from the parties involved, particularly the IYI Party, the largest party in terms of numerical strength in the Parliament.Indeed, the IYI Party, which had previously expressed reluctance towards the AKP's proposition, declared on August 26th its intention to participate in the upcoming local elections independently. Meral Akşener emphasized her stance against forming alliances and cooperating with other parties. As anticipated in our previous Freedom Observer, the leader of the IYI Party, Meral Akşener, whose strategic objective is to establish a solitary presence within the "center-right" of the political spectrum, became more evident through this announcement. She is evidently moving away from other opposition parties and choosing a solo path.However, it appears unlikely that Akşener will be able to accomplish her strategic objective and simultaneously achieve substantial success in the forthcoming local elections solely based on her own influence. Her estimation of her popularity and her party's strength might be seen as overly optimistic.Simultaneously, it appears that the other parties approached by the AKP for the "right-wing alliance" are displaying reservations towards the idea. Recent statements from the Saadet Party and the Future Party from the past week suggest that these parties have yet to adopt a definitive stance on the proposition and are inclined against engaging in such an alliance.On the contrary, the DEVA Party's response stands out as more principled and seems to signify a clear rejection. The statement explicitly expresses that they will not endorse actions by the government that could lead to societal polarization over the headscarf, especially considering the government's lack of enforcement of existing laws. Furthermore, the statement emphasizes the need for those advocating justice against authoritarian structures to unite. Given the DEVA Party's consistent commitment to liberal-democratic principles, their reluctance to align permanently with the People's Alliance parties, associated with the present autocratic regime, or even with the IYI Party, whose ideological proximity to the MHP in terms of statism and nationalism is evident, is not an unexpected standpoint.

The Freedom Observer

The Constitutional Court faces difficulties in finding a resolution when fundamental rights violations stem from the law. Law No. 6216 does not provide clear guidance on this matter. Originally, there was a provision in the draft law, Article 49, paragraph six, which stated that if a violation arose from the law, the relevant section would refer the issue to the General Assembly of the Constitutional Court. However, this provision was later removed during the commission's work due to concerns about granting the Constitutional Court the authority to initiate lawsuits on its own. Although the provision was removed, no alternative solution was introduced to address this problem.In practice, the Constitutional Court has resorted to sending a copy of its decision to the Parliament in cases where violations are attributed to the law. However, neither the Rules of Procedure of the Turkish Grand National Assembly nor Law No. 6216 specify how to proceed in such instances.The Constitutional Court has issued notifications to the Turkish Grand National Assembly in three pilot judgments and several other judgments, acknowledging that the violations were a result of the existing laws. However, in only one case, the law was amended following the notification. In other instances, the TGNA did not take any action, leading to the escalation of violations due to the Constitutional Court's flawed pilot decision practice.For instance, in the pilot decision regarding Hamit Yakut, the Constitutional Court determined that the offense of "committing a crime on behalf of a terrorist organization without being a member of a terrorist organization," as regulated in the sixth paragraph of Article 220 of the Turkish Criminal Code, lacked foreseeability in practice. The Court found that individuals exercising their constitutional rights to freedom of assembly and expression were being punished based on this article. Consequently, the Court notified the Parliament to amend the relevant provision. In the same decision, the Court suspended the examination of similar applications for a period of one year. However, since no measures were taken by the Court regarding individuals sentenced under the provision in question, they continued to be deprived of their liberty during the specified period. The Turkish Parliament failed to take any action within the designated timeframe. Two years later, the Court consolidated the pending applications and concluded that the rights of each applicant, including Deniz Yavuncu and others, had been violated.However, the Constitutional Court has yet to find a definitive solution to remedy the violation. Despite ruling for the retrial of the applicants, the existence of the unchanged provision in the law makes it unlikely that local courts will interpret it differently and issue an acquittal verdict. If such a possibility existed, there would be no need for a pilot judgment in the first place.The Constitutional Court suggests two approaches to the local courts. The first is to directly apply the international convention instead of the conflicting law, under the framework of Article 90 of the Constitution. However, the Constitutional Court did not need to issue a pilot judgment for this option, as the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) had already ruled in the Işıkırık v. Turkey case that the same provision was unforeseeable and conflicted with the Convention. The Constitutional Court could have promptly resolved the victims' situation by issuing a direct violation decision.The second suggestion is for the courts handling the retrial to appeal to the Constitutional Court based on Article 152 of the Constitution. However, this suggestion delays the applicants' access to their rights and, most importantly, results in years of unnecessary imprisonment.A possible solution to this problem could be if the Constitutional Court's section responsible for individual applications considers itself as the court hearing the case and objects to the unconstitutional law by bringing it before the General Assembly. It is evident that the Constitutional Court, based on historical interpretation, is hesitant to utilize a power not recognized by the legislature. However, during the legislative process, Constitutional Court officials stated that this route was available and did not object to the removal of the problematic provision from the draft law. If this approach is not favored, an amendment to Law No. 6216 and the Rules of Procedure of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey should be made to compel the amendment of the provision that violates constitutional rights.

In practice, the Constitutional Court has resorted to sending a copy of its decision to the Parliament in cases where violations are attributed to the law. However, neither the Rules of Procedure of the Turkish Grand National Assembly nor Law No. 6216 specify how to proceed in such instances.

The Constitutional Court Fails to Resolve

According to the report, 2022 has been a devastating year for press freedom in Turkey, where the systematic repression of independent media continues. MapMF recorded a total of 167 press freedom violations in Turkey, involving 362 individuals or media outlets. Turkey continues to be one of the countries that imprison journalists the most in the world. At the time the report was published, 41 journalists were in prison.Journalists who cover critically about the AKP face threats of arrest and prosecution. Meanwhile, increasing physical attacks on journalists add to a hostile and dangerous work environment. Kurdish media, in particular, face great pressure due to both their journalistic activities and their ethnic origins.Güngör Arslan, owner and editor-in-chief of the local newspaper "Ses Kocaeli", was shot dead in front of his office in February. Arslan wrote articles criticizing the former Kocaeli Provincial Head of Ülkü Ocakları, Ersin Kurt, who is said to have ordered the murder to silence him.More than half of the documented cases (53.3%, 89 violations) that aim to silence the independent media and critical journalists are harassed through using the law in an arbitrary manner. Arbitrary detentions, prison sentences, deportations, and police raids account for about a quarter (24.0%, 40 violations) of documented cases in Turkey.13.2% of the violations recorded consisted of judicial convictions (22 violations) including different terrorism charges. Journalists have also been regularly subjected to harassment campaigns and received physical violence and death threats online.Another major blow to press freedom came last October when the Turkish Grand National Assembly passed a comprehensive new law that would face up to three years in prison for those accused of spreading disinformation. As part of the same package law, internet news portals were recognized as the official news media, and these portals were also required to publish "corrections" issued by the authorities. In addition, a regulation entitled "Ethics of the Press", which came into effect in July will particularly influence news about LGBTIQ+ by allowing it to censor media content based on "morality".Meanwhile, the government-controlled Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) continued to impose discriminatory sanctions on media outlets and block access to websites. Courts have decided to block access to hundreds of news stories. After the bomb attack in Istanbul in November, Turkish authorities decided to ban broadcasting and restricted access to social media.Journalists in Turkey were subjected to physical violence, mostly by the police (66 targeted journalists and 21 cases) while covering protests. About two-thirds (63.6%) of such cases of physical violence (33 violations) recorded on MapMF were perpetrated by state security forces. Meanwhile, female journalists were also sexually assaulted and harassed by the police. * Gürkan Özturan – European Centre for Press and Media Freedom Media Freedom Rapid Response Coordinator <hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;"> [1] https://halktv.com.tr/siyaset/erdogan-hdp-kararinin-ardindan-telefona-sarildi-iste-o-konusma-727804h[2] https://www.anayasa.gov.tr/media/8438/2021-2-spk-ara-karar.pdf[3] https://www.anayasa.gov.tr/media/8594/2021-2_spk_ara_karar-9_3_2023.pdf[4] https://www.mapmf.org/explorer?f.year=2022&amp;f.country=Turkey. Proje Avrupa Komisyonu tarafından finanse edilmektedir. Geçmiş raporlar MapMF web sitesinden indirilebilir ve bu rapor için uyarılara, sürekli güncellenen ve izleme ortakları tarafından belgelenen tüm uyarıları toplayan ve görselleştiren Uyarı Gezgini aracılığıyla erişilebilir.[5] https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2023/03/20230331-15.pdf[6] https://tr.euronews.com/2021/12/20/cumhurbaskan-erdogan-dan-turk-liras-mevduatlar-icin-yeni-duzenleme-ac-klamas

In a report published by the International Press Institute (IPI), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) as part of a joint Media Freedom Emergency Response (MFRR) project that monitors and supports threatened journalists, media workers, and platforms, it seems that there are data on press and media freedom in Turkey that are not at all optimistic. 

Media and Press Freedom Violations Monitoring Report 2022

It was announced that in the earthquakes that occurred on February 6 and affected 11 provinces, approximately 165,000 buildings consisting of 520,000 independent units were destroyed or severely damaged. The need for the reconstruction of cities, especially Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, and Adıyaman, has emerged. For this reason, it is urgently necessary to provide temporary shelter for at least three million people, to plan their permanent resettlement, and to return the lives of earthquake victims to normal before it is too late.After the earthquake, the President declared a state of emergency for three months in the region covering 11 provinces and this decision was approved by the Turkish Grand National Assembly. In this context, the President has issued many Presidential Decrees of state of emergency. Presidential Decree No. 126 on Settlement and Construction Under the State of Emergency, published in the Official Gazette dated February 24, 2023, regulates how the temporary or final resettlement areas of those affected by the disaster will be determined and how the new settlements will be built. According to this Decree, temporary and final settlement areas can be determined directly by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change, without complying with the rules stipulated in the Settlement Law. If there is a pasture or forest in these areas, they can be opened to the settlement without complying with the restrictions in the relevant laws. Rights regarding mining and tourism management previously recognized in the identified areas will automatically expire, immovables belonging to public institutions will be registered directly in the name of the Ministry or TOKİ, and privately owned immovables will be expropriated immediately.The main issue that needs to be discussed here is whether a regulation regarding the determination and construction of permanent settlements can be made with a State of Emergency Presidential Decree (OHAL CBK). According to article 119/6 of the Constitution, a State of Emergency CBK may be issued "on matters necessitated by the state of emergency". However, it is not possible to say that the new city plan of a province such as Hatay, which was severely damaged in the earthquake, is a matter "necessitated by the state of emergency". This is because of the fact that OHAL CBKs cannot establish rules that exceed the duration of the state of emergency. In addition to the determination of where a city will be built, new construction efforts should be is an issue that needs to be decided through a democratic and participatory process. While a decision that will determine the future centuries of the city should be made at the end of intensive scientific examination and analysis, as well as discussion, and negotiation processes that take the demands and opinions of various actors and interest groups into consideration, it is clear that starting constructions in a hurry without the plans being announced to the public and without any demand or objection opportunity will have irreversible consequences.In addition, it is not possible to open forest and pasture areas for construction in violation of the Constitution. On the other hand, privately owned immovables will be expropriated immediately, and disputes over expropriation prices will take many years to resolve. Likewise, all previously granted rights in places designated as residential areas will automatically expire. All these regulations inevitably cause violations of property rights.However, Article 148 of the Constitution blocked the way to file an annulment action against the OHAL CBKs. While the Constitutional Court had previously ruled in the cases brought against the emergency decree laws in 1991 that it could audit whether a State of Emergency Decree was limited to the requirements of the state of emergency. Yet, in 2016 the Court reverted from this jurisprudence and decided that it could not in any way supervise the emergency decrees. The Constitutional Court will probably adhere to the same jurisprudence for the OHAL CBKs. In this case, CBKs can be subject to constitutional review only after they are approved by the parliament. According to the Constitution, the OHAL CBKs must be discussed in parliament within three months at the latest. It is not possible to predict how long the Constitutional Court will decide on cases to be filed after approval within this period. The lack of control of the state of emergency CBKs will cause serious human rights violations and irreversible social harm.

Can the Reconstruction of Cities be Arranged with the Presidential Decree of the State of Emergency?

Reconstruction of Cities

<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Regulation for the victims of delayed pension age</h2><ul fr-original-style="padding-inline-start: 20px;" style="padding-inline-start: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; list-style-position: inside; box-sizing: border-box;"><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: border-box;">AK Party Group Deputy Chairperson Muhammet Emin Akbaşoğlu said that the regulation on those victims of delayed pension age has been submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly and is expected to be enacted on Tuesday or Wednesday next week.</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Details: According to the proposal, those who were insured before September 9, 1999, can retire if they have completed their premium days and working hours. In addition, a 5-point premium support corresponding to 500 liras will be provided for those who retire and want to continue working in the same workplace.</li></ul><h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Criticism of the Opposition</h2><ul fr-original-style="padding-inline-start: 20px;" style="padding-inline-start: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; list-style-position: inside; box-sizing: border-box;"><li dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: border-box;">‘Eeny, meeny, miny, moe’: MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli, in his speech at the group meeting, described the Joint Memorandum of Understanding announced by the Millet Alliance as ‘a political hollow, a declaration of destruction, a guarantee given to separatism and a freak imposition’. Bahçeli said of the alliance, ‘They will determine the presidential candidate on February 13. If they cannot decide, they should go before a notary public and choose their candidates by lot. If they disagree, they can draw short and long straws to nominate a candidate. They can find their candidates with the nursery rhyme ‘Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a tiger by the toe.’’<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2023/1/6/1675532663075.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="1.78" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Gazete Duvar<ul fr-original-style="padding-inline-start: 20px;" style="padding-inline-start: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; list-style-position: inside; box-sizing: border-box;"><li dir="ltr" fr-original-style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box;">In his speech at the AK Party's group meeting, President Erdoğan&nbsp;addressed the AK Party deputies who did not attend the meetings in the General Assembly of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey: ‘If you do not fulfil your duty properly, this nation will not do you justice, the salaries you receive are haram, know this!’</li><li dir="ltr" fr-original-style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box;">‘Bye, Mr Kemal’: Erdoğan also addressed CHP leader Kılıçdaroğlu and said, ‘If Mr Kemal likes this expression so much. I will also give you the new slogan he will use from now on: Bye, Mr Kemal. We do not ask for royalties, we give our blessings.’</li></ul><img src="https://images.aposto.com/2023/1/6/1675533755508.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="1.78" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">AA<ul fr-original-style="padding-inline-start: 20px;" style="padding-inline-start: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; list-style-position: inside; box-sizing: border-box;"><li dir="ltr" fr-original-style="text-align: left;" style="text-align: left; box-sizing: border-box;">‘Bye-bye love’: CHP leader Kılıçdaroğlu responded to Erdoğan's outburst with a scene from the movie ‘Organize İşler’, which he shared on social media. The Everly Brothers' song Bye Bye Love was featured on the stage. </li></ul></li></ul>

Spektrum

MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli, in perhaps the most awaited group meeting speech in a long time, described the visit of the AKP delegation to HDP on the constitutional amendment as ‘a natural and right step.’ In the relevant part of his speech,what Bahçeli said is as follows:&nbsp;<blockquote fr-original-style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); border-color: rgb(37, 44, 60); border-width: 4px; font-style: italic; padding-left: 10px;" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); border-color: rgb(37, 44, 60); border-width: 4px; font-style: italic; padding-left: 10px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; border-left-style: solid; box-sizing: border-box;">‘Why did they meet with the HDP? What will we say, and how will we react to this? These are the hypothetical questions whose answers have been sought for days. I don't even need to repeat how we look at the HDP. It is a devastating and mischievous attitude for those who don't make a sound about the AKP delegation's contact with the CHP to talk about the HDP on our backs. In our eyes, the CHP is the same as the HDP. We do not look at what was discussed, we look at how a reasonable and democratic solution will be found.’</blockquote>The controversial visitThe AKP, which needs 360 votes to take the constitutional amendment to the referendum and 400 votes to adopt it without a referendum, has visited all parties with a group in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. On 2 November, Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdağ, AKP Deputy Chairman Ali İhsan Yavuz, and AKP Group Deputy Chairman Mustafa Elitaş visited the HDP delegation for the constitutional amendment proposal prepared by the AKP on domestic relations and religious freedom.After the visit, AKP Şanlıurfa MP Mehmet Ali Cevheri said, ‘It is absurd not to go. It is a legal party, established according to the law. It operates under the roof of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and has a group. We also need their support.’Former AKP MP Mehmet Metiner said, ‘If entering into dialogue-cooperation with the HDP is a requirement of the vision of the Turkish Century, then would it be right to criticise the HDP by equating it with the PKK, and would it be right to blame others who are in dialogue-cooperation with the HDP? Is it only right when we do something?’. Metiner argued that ‘every word that will be said about the HDP from now on will run on empty.’AKP executive Şamil Tayyar said, ‘The AK Party should conduct its relations with the HDP on the same level as it sees it. If it is a political extension of the PKK and a party that needs to be shut down, why are we discussing the Constitution with them? If the PKK is separate from the HDP, why did we need to use such a language and tone that put them in the same equation?’İYİP Spokesperson Kürşad Zorlu said, ‘Indeed, parties should not use their standards of judgment to win elections. An understanding that anything is legitimate to win elections will lead to a problem of legitimacy in which the society and politics are at the center. It is an unacceptable approach.’CHP Spokesperson Faik Öztrak said, ‘If you are doing politics of values and principles, you will bear the consequences. What you said before this, what you are doing now, I leave this to the consideration of our nation.’&nbsp;Former HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş said, ‘Instead of taking a share from this meeting and starting a fast meeting traffic with the HDP, the representative of legitimate politics, the opposition preferred to turn it into a storm to wear down the AKP and implicitly criminalise the HDP. It is inconceivable.’ He reacted to the opposition with these sentences. Demirtaş said that ‘no one can ignore the HDP’ and called on the opposition to ‘come together to form a realistic program to end poverty, hunger, war, and despair.’Why was there an expected reaction from the MHP?AKP Group Deputy Chairman Mahir Ünal, who had harshly criticised the language revolution in recent weeks, resigned from his post after Bahçeli's heavy criticism. It was interpreted that this development could be an indicator of a disagreement within the People's Alliance (Millet İttifakı).The People's Alliance had long accused the HDP of being the political representative of the terrorist organisation PKK. The opposition parties' contact with the HDP was condemned. The CHP was associated with the PKK due to the meetings between the CHP and the HDP, and the thesis that the HDP was the ‘sleeping partner’ of the six-party alliances despite forming a separate alliance with the socialist parties was being processed. Even the CHP's alliance partner İYİP, which had no contact with the HDP, was labeled a ‘PKK supporter.’ Efforts were being made to create a crack in the six-party table through the nationalist sensitivities of the İYİP.This understanding, which excluded the HDP from legitimate political grounds, was narrowing the opposition's room for maneuver. Although it was obvious that HDP voters would be one of the decisive electoral groups in the second round of the two-round election system, no policy was (could) formulated to address this reality.Journalist İsmail Saymaz wrote on Monday that an MHP official told him that they had learned about the AKP’'s visit to the HDP from the press. As the visit brought with it allegations that a new opening process was on the way, there were expectations that Bahçeli might demand early elections or show a harsh reaction to the AKP as a ‘balancing act.’Expanding the political spaceAccording to journalist Hande Fırat's reports from the MHP lobbies, the party, which ‘has not changed its view on the HDP,’ thinks that the AKP’'s view on the HDP cannot change and that ‘it cannot make a new initiative anyway.’ Thinking that the CHP and the HDP are the same, the MHP does not find it strange that the AKP, which goes to the CHP, goes to the HDP.’ In other words, we may be waiting for a period in which it becomes clear that the AKP and the MHP, which have recently become identical, are two political parties in the alliance.The AKP’'s proposal for a constitutional amendment to the CHP's proposal for a legal guarantee for headscarves is likely to further complicate politics. The AKP's proposal to change the definition of family to block same-sex marriages in the constitution, in addition to legalising the headscarf, puts the CHP in an unwanted dilemma. The use of closed ballots in constitutional amendments also paves the way for parties to ‘set traps’ for one another, for unexpected parties to vote in the same direction, or for MPs to violate party discipline.For the time being, it can be interpreted that the opposition parties have strengthened their hand against the accusation of ‘anyone in contact with HDP is a terrorist sympathiser’ and the government's national security and survival discourse has weakened. In the article published in Spektrum titled ‘The thorn-filled road of opposition: Opposition in the State of Emergency,’ the promise of the opposition parties to build a new Turkey depends on ‘refusing to do opposition to the extent permitted by the government.’

Turkish Grand National Assembly ile ilgili hikayeler