Turkey pressed on Criminal Court
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 21, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Turkey is not yet party to the International Criminal Court, or ICC. As Turkey gets the non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council, pressure grows on the government to ratify the Rome Statute, which established the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal
The Turkish Coalition for the International Criminal Court called on the government Friday to quickly ratify the Rome Statute, which established the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal.
"That would be an important step on the way to democratization," Öztürk Türkdoğan, spokesman for the group, told reporters at a press conference.
Turkey is not yet party to the International Criminal Court, or ICC, which unlike the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights, prosecutes individuals, not states, for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. That the court does not define terrorism as a crime is one of the reasons for Ankara's hesitations, said Türkdoğan.
He said cases such as the 1974 Turkish military operation in Cyprus and the 1915 incidents could not appear before the ICC because it can only prosecute crimes committed on or after July 2002 when it was created.
"The ratification of the founding treaty (Rome Statute) is a test for Turkey to demonstrate political will for future democratization," he said, adding that Turkey's newly amended penal code was advanced and spells out charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and that Turkey should not hesitate to become a party to the Rome Statute.
Turkey to play 'key' role in al-Bashir case
The Darfur crisis involving the Sudanese regime accused of committing genocide by unleashing militias on ethnic Africans is one of the cases before the ICC. The Turkish government came under fire for giving a cordial welcome to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his deputy.
"Turkey, a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, will play a key role in a decision to be delivered on al-Bashir's arrest," Özlem Altıparmak, general coordinator for the Turkish Coalition for the International Criminal Court, said at the same press conference.
She said legally a case could appear before the ICC upon a decision made by the U.N. Security Council. "Turkey will be one of the decision-making countries in this Darfur case," she said. The court is expected to announce its decision shortly about whether or not it will seek al-Bashir's arrest for his alleged role in atrocities in Darfur.
Al-Bashir's deputy Ali Osman Mohammed Taha was in Ankara earlier this month to seek Turkey's support to save the Sudanese president from trial in The Hague, according to press reports. In recent remarks, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said al-Bashir's leadership was needed to resolve the Darfur crisis, which was interpreted as support for the Sudanese president. "These statements are really unfortunate and could be used against Turkey in the international arena," said Türkdoğan.
"That would be an important step on the way to democratization," Öztürk Türkdoğan, spokesman for the group, told reporters at a press conference.
Turkey is not yet party to the International Criminal Court, or ICC, which unlike the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights, prosecutes individuals, not states, for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. That the court does not define terrorism as a crime is one of the reasons for Ankara's hesitations, said Türkdoğan.
He said cases such as the 1974 Turkish military operation in Cyprus and the 1915 incidents could not appear before the ICC because it can only prosecute crimes committed on or after July 2002 when it was created.
"The ratification of the founding treaty (Rome Statute) is a test for Turkey to demonstrate political will for future democratization," he said, adding that Turkey's newly amended penal code was advanced and spells out charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and that Turkey should not hesitate to become a party to the Rome Statute.
Turkey to play 'key' role in al-Bashir case
The Darfur crisis involving the Sudanese regime accused of committing genocide by unleashing militias on ethnic Africans is one of the cases before the ICC. The Turkish government came under fire for giving a cordial welcome to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and his deputy.
"Turkey, a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, will play a key role in a decision to be delivered on al-Bashir's arrest," Özlem Altıparmak, general coordinator for the Turkish Coalition for the International Criminal Court, said at the same press conference.
She said legally a case could appear before the ICC upon a decision made by the U.N. Security Council. "Turkey will be one of the decision-making countries in this Darfur case," she said. The court is expected to announce its decision shortly about whether or not it will seek al-Bashir's arrest for his alleged role in atrocities in Darfur.
Al-Bashir's deputy Ali Osman Mohammed Taha was in Ankara earlier this month to seek Turkey's support to save the Sudanese president from trial in The Hague, according to press reports. In recent remarks, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said al-Bashir's leadership was needed to resolve the Darfur crisis, which was interpreted as support for the Sudanese president. "These statements are really unfortunate and could be used against Turkey in the international arena," said Türkdoğan.