CIVICUS discusses ongoing protests in Turkey with lawyer Eren Keskin, chair of the Human Rights Association (IHD). One of Turkey’s oldest and largest human rights civil society organisations (CSOs), IHD documents human rights violations and campaigns for the protection of human rights and civic freedoms.

The recent arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul’s mayor and the opposition’s presidential candidate for the next general election, triggered the biggest wave of protests Turkey has seen since the 2013 Gezi Park protests. Starting in Istanbul and quickly spreading to dozens of cities, the protests have brought together an unprecedented coalition of students, workers, opposition politicians and first-time protesters. The government’s heavy-handed response has intensified public outrage.

What challenges have you faced as a human rights defender?

I’ve been subjected to various forms of repression over the years. In 1995, I was imprisoned for six months for using the word ‘Kurdistan’ in an article. I have survived two armed attacks, one in 1994 and another in 2001.

I currently face 143 lawsuits simply because my name is listed as the volunteer editor-in-chief of Özgür Gündem, a newspaper that reports on human rights violations in Kurdistan, although I didn’t carry out any of the alleged activities. I’ve been sentenced for articles I didn’t write, including charges of membership in extremist organisations, extremist propaganda and insulting the president.

I currently face a total sentence of 26 years and nine months in prison, pending before the Supreme Court, meaning I could be imprisoned at any moment. I’ve been banned from leaving Turkey for eight years and continue to receive constant threats on social media.

Why are such widespread protests happening now?

The Turkish republic has never been a state governed by the rule of law. Unfortunately, it was founded as a military republic based solely on Turkish and Sunni Muslim identity. Human rights violations have existed since its founding. What changed in recent years is that segments of the population that were previously more shielded have been increasingly subjected to violations. This is why many see human rights violations as something new.

Currently, sections of society that defend the founding ideology – Kemalism or Unionism – are in conflict with the government of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. So when they take to the streets to protest against human rights violations, they focus on the violations committed by Erdoğan and the AKP, and not those that resulted from Turkey’s founding ideology. This means they share the official state narrative on issues such as the Armenian genocide, the Kurdish question and military presence in Cyprus.

People are currently protesting because the AKP, along with the Nationalist Movement Party, is committing major violations against democratic rights and freedoms of association, expression and peaceful assembly. People are being imprisoned for their thoughts and there are intense policies of othering and hatred. But it’s incorrect to define these protesters as opposed to the system. The protests represent a power struggle between the AKP and the Kemalists.

Who is coordinating these protests, and what role is civil society playing?

In Turkey, CSOs must be divided into two categories: those called civil society but completely dependent on state power, and those truly opposed to the system, such as IHD and women’s rights organisations, LGBTQI+ organisations and some legal organisations.

Our protests go back much further than the people who take to the streets today. We have constantly engaged in civil disobedience. Until a year and a half ago, we used to be detained weekly and subjected to ill-treatment during the Saturday Mothers’ protests, which have spoken out about the enforced disappearance of family members and demanded justice since 1995.

The groups protesting today, particularly those claiming to oppose the AKP, are generally coordinated by Kemalist groups such as the Good Party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Victory Party – not by system-opposing CSOs. True opposition civil society groups have demands concerning freedom of expression, human rights violations in prisons, violence against women and hate policies against LGBTQI+ people. While protesters share their demands for freedom of expression, they are being coordinated by the CHP.

How have the authorities responded, and what should change?

During protests held outside the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality building following İmamoğlu’s detention, known as the Saraçhane protests, police repression was extremely harsh. Over 300 people, mostly young, were arrested and many protesters were tortured and ill-treated in detention.

Since the protests began, the authorities have detained around 1,900 people nationwide, with hundreds jailed pending trial. International journalists covering the protests have faced harassment, including deportation for alleged ‘threats to public order’. Unfortunately, the state once again committed severe rights violations, violating all the international treaties it has signed.

The Turkish Republic must act in accordance with the international agreements it has signed, which guarantee rights such as freedoms of association and expression, freedom from gender-based violence and LGBTQI+ rights.

But it should be noted that Turkey is not the sole signatory to these agreements. European Union (EU) countries, also signatories, are not enforcing existing monitoring mechanisms against Turkey. I don’t believe the EU has genuinely assessed its approach towards Turkey. In other words, other signatory states of these agreements are also responsible for the human rights violations we’re experiencing today.

The opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of CIVICUS.