The
human rights group, Amnesty International has issued a report about human
rights abuses that occurred in Turkey back in May and June of this year.
According to the report protesters had gathered in Istanbul to protest the
demolition of Gezi Park and its subsequent replacement with a shopping mall. In
response to the protesters occupying the park, riot police were dispatched.
These police allegedly used live ammunition and tear gas on the protesters.
These police also are said to have beat and sexually assaulted the protesters.
Two men died from the beatings. This report was released as the same time that
the Turkish government announced its own investigation into the incident and
unveiled several reforms to democratize Turkey. However, Amnesty International
states that these reforms fall short of preventing these abuses from occurring in
the future and brings to light many other human rights issues that are still problematic
in Turkey. One major problem these reforms did not address is the treatment of
the nation’s Kurdish people (an ethnic minority). Turkey has banned the teaching
of the Kurdish language in public schools and has in recent years arrested many
Kurds accused them of being part of a Kurdish militia group. The reform also
curtailed dealing with hate crimes based on gender or sexuality.
First of all, the protest in Istanbul shows several
sociological concepts. The protest itself goes against normative behavior.
Protests are anti-normative behavior used by people to draw attention to an
issue. The abuses incurred by the protesters illuminate several concerns. If
the riot police are guilty of killing and sexually assaulting protesters and
are not punished there is corruption. The fact that the police have reportedly
sexually assaulted women protesters shows genderization of crime. The other
abuses in Turkey such as the incarceration of many Kurds and the banning of the
Kurdish language being taught in schools puts Turkey on the far end of the continuum
of intergroup relations, opposite of the ideal of multiculturalism. Ultimately,
this article shows that Turkey is violating many ideals set forth in the UN’s Declaration
of Human Rights. They are violating the rights of protection from arbitrary arrest,
inhumane treatment, the right to security of person, the right to peaceful
assembly, and most importantly the right to life. If these abuses are continued
to be allowed, where will the line be drawn? If these abuses are allowed,
corruption and inequality could spiral to absolute extremes and then these
essential rights would be meaningless. A human right is a right for anyone,
anywhere and if violations are allowed to happen in one nation, the rest of the
world is green lighting these abuses to occur anywhere.
Nicole
Egna
10/4/13
2:30 pm
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/02/world/europe/turkey-human-rights/index.html
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