Enfield North MP Joan Ryan secured a 90-minute debate over the situation in Turkey and Turkey-UK relations, given the avalanching agenda of Turkey especially after the attempted military purge back in 15 July.
The debate welcomed prominent faces from UK politics such as Tottenham MP David Lammy, Edinburgh east MPs and David Burrowes MP. MPs have spoken with a single voice tackling their concerns over Turkey and Turkish politics, given the rising apprehension towards the country’s violation to human rights and sackings due to the post-attempted coup era of Turkish state of emergency. The panel was also moderated by MP Peter Bone and was witnessed and listened by Tobias Ellwood MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Opening the debate, Joan Ryan MP said that human rights have been curtailed as a result of Turkey’s state of emergency.
“Turkish, Kurdish and Alevi people living in Britain feel threatened of returning back home because of the post-coup crackdown in Turkey”
Tackling the media censorship and journalist sackings, MP Joan Ryan also shared her concerns over the “scaremongering” politics of Turkish government. Tackling the recent shuts of Alevi and Kurdish TV channels, Miss Ryan voiced Kurdish and Alevi communities’ concerns living in London. MP David Lammy, in his speech also argued that given the actions of President Erdogan, Turkey is now a democracy in name only and that the Government must condemn the human rights abuses and march towards authoritarianism we are seeing in a country that is our NATO ally.
Mr Lammy said:
“I was at the Kurdish Community Centre in Haringey a couple of weeks ago. Everyone I met there has relatives and friends over in Turkey. They are fearful for the safety of their families and friends and they are scared about the future of the country.
“One constituent told me this week that Turkey is now a “banana republic”. A man who escaped to Britain during the military coup in 1980 and now lives in Tottenham told me that while he thought things were bad back then, what Erdogan is doing today is much worse and on a scale not seen before.”
“So today I urge the Government to condemn the torture and human rights abuses being carried out so brazenly by our ally.”
“A BIGGER TURKEY-UK RELATIONS DEBATE IS ON THE WAY”
The debate also led another discussion on a bigger and wider event to discuss UK and Turkey relations in more details, at a bigger Parliamentary debate. At the end of the debate, Mr Ellwood stated that the concerns have been taken into account.
JOAN RYAN: I AM DISAPPOINTED BY THE FEEDBACK
Finding Mr Ellwood’s feedback and outputs “disappointing”, Joan Ryan MP rose awareness for a debate on human rights over trade or NATO alliance-oriented inferences.
