DEM Party reacts to the government's 'omnibus bill': 'It is a blow to the rule of law'

DEM Party Group Deputy Chairperson Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit made assessments regarding the agenda at a press conference she held at the TBMM.

Stating that the government's practice of enacting decrees (KHK) and Presidential decrees, which the Constitutional Court (AYM) has annulled, into law in Parliament through omnibus bill proposals does not comply with the principle of the rule of law, Koçyiğit said the following:

"For weeks, we have been facing the absurdity of omnibus bills coming to the Planning and Budget Committee in Parliament. The AK Party first issues a decree and applies those decrees unlawfully for 8-9 years. Then the Constitutional Court says, 'You cannot do this with a decree; a legal regulation is required on this matter.' Then they quickly try to package them all up and pass them through Parliament one after another. In this sense, we must underline that this is a great disrespect to the will in Parliament and to legislative activity, and that it is a major deception. This approach itself does not in any way align with the principle of the rule of law, democratic values, or the activity of high-quality lawmaking. We also know very well that they do not care at all and do not truly listen to these concerns.

We are talking about a new social peace, but the parliament is stalling and diverting the agenda to legalize decrees or Presidential decrees that were applied 7 years ago and have been in effect contrary to the law. Yet, the primary function of this parliament is to make laws that will truly serve this process, to conduct discussions appropriate to this process, and it needs to take responsibility for the process to proceed safely. But we see a parliamentary operation that is far from all of this, that drains the energy of the Parliament, and that is far from all practices such as truly high-quality lawmaking or making laws for the public good; let us underline that this is actually a very great disrespect to the place where the will of the people is manifested. Furthermore, we are experiencing time pressure here. They gather everything and bring it, saying, 'The effective date is this, we must enact it before then.' You have been applying them for all these years, and when the Constitutional Court tells you 'It is not appropriate,' you package them and put them in front of us, and there is a mentality that wants the opposition to clear the way regarding time, which is impossible to understand. Peace coming to this country is of vital importance for the democratic resolution of the Kurdish issue."

"PEACE IS OF VITAL IMPORTANCE"

Touching upon the expectations of social segments and her party regarding the 10th Judicial Package, Koçyiğit stated that the regulation concerning the execution of sentences for political prisoners and those tried for organized crimes should pass through Parliament before the Eid al-Adha (Kurban Bayramı), saying:

"We have been talking about the 10th Judicial Package for weeks. I can guess that you are all asking what good we saw from the 9 packages that we would see from the 10th, because we know that there is no approach within the incoming packages that could align with this country's principle of the rule of law, establish justice, or eliminate existing inequalities; they prepare and bring packages with palliative, short-term measures. If that were not the case, there would not be a need for so many packages. If there were a truly functioning justice system, a judicial system that had overcome its structural problems, we could all ask why we talked about 9 packages.

There are tens of thousands of political prisoners in Turkey's prisons. The most important characteristic of political prisoners is that they are in prison due to their opinions, thoughts, and actions they took to democratize this country. In this sense, political prisoners are an issue where the justice system has lost its impartiality, universal principles of law are trampled upon, and there is complete inequality in both the trial dimension and the execution of the sentence. If we are talking about Turkey's democratic future, we want to express once again our demand that the severe grievances experienced in the legal field be resolved rapidly, that unlawful and unjust arrests in prisons be released immediately, and that legal steps that will heal social wounds be taken immediately. I want to express that all inequalities created by the legal legislation to date due to the Kurdish issue, and all discriminatory legislation put forward, must be reviewed, and in this sense, steps must be taken today without leaving it for tomorrow. Peace coming to this country is of vital importance for the democratic resolution of the Kurdish issue.

"JUSTICE IN SENTENCING, EQUALITY IN EXECUTION IS OUR BASIC APPROACH"

One of the most important issues here is that execution law is discriminatory. Especially regarding issues such as parole and probation, we see that those who are prisoners for organized crimes, that is, those who have convictions due to the Anti-Terror Law (TMK), do not benefit from this. We see that political prisoners are almost always kept as exceptions in all regulations. While the parole period in the normal TMK is 1/2, we see that if a conviction is handed down under the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), there is an execution and parole period of 3/4, which is absolutely unacceptable. Justice in sentencing and equality in execution is our basic approach.

A regulation was made regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. There was an opportunity for early release by 3 years for those whose sentences were finalized before July 31, 2023, but there is a problem here: it did not cover those whose sentences had not yet been finalized. Expressing that this is also an inequality, let us state that the date the crime was committed, not the date the judgment was finalized, should be taken as the basis, and that the regulation made on this matter should be expanded rapidly. When this law was passed during the pandemic period, our parliamentary group fought against this inequality, but the AKP turned a blind eye to this as well. Again, they kept organized crimes and political prisoners as exceptions. As if Covid-19 only affected judicial prisoners and political prisoners were not affected by it, they condemned them to death in prison. We must express that the clause keeping organized crimes and political prisoners as exceptions in the Covid-19 regulation must be removed rapidly. There is a need for a clean slate. Let us state that the TMK, TCK, CMK, and execution law need to be purged from beginning to end, and that after all these purges, comprehensive democratization packages should be brought to Parliament rapidly.

"IT MUST BE A COMMISSION THAT WE CAN DECIDE ON TOGETHER WITH THOSE WHO HAVE A GROUP"

Currently, there is no resolution framework law that has come out of Parliament. In 2013-2015—at that time there was not such a broad social consensus—this Parliament even then passed a law on ending terrorism and strengthening social integration. The law later became obsolete, but today, a legal regulation that can provide legal security for the process must be made immediately. Currently, attempts are being made to move forward without legal security, and we must express that this is not correct and not in line with the spirit of the process. Words and practice are valuable, but it is necessary to crown all this word and practice with legal security and to rapidly reveal a legal ground where no one will take a step back from peace discussions and the democratic resolution of the Kurdish issue.

A commission must absolutely, definitely be established, and it must be established around this issue. It should be a commission that needs to be established with legal security, but we think that we can come together and discuss the form, content, number, and decision-making of the commission and implement it with the broadest consensus, but steps must be taken on this matter rapidly. This commission needs to be established in a way that can listen to NGOs, women, intellectuals, writers, academics, and journalists, and definitely include their views and ideas in the process. We want to express that this commission must be democratic and transparent, and that all these discussions must be held in front of the eyes of the public. It must be a commission that we can decide on together with those who have a group. Everything from its number to the way of decision-making can be discussed, as long as the essence of the matter is not lost. The essence of the matter is; Parliament being the address, this issue being discussed in Parliament, Parliament taking initiative on this matter, and the broadest ground among the opposition and all other political parties contributing to this process; there is a need for an approach that will make both the parliamentary and social opposition a stakeholder in this business without excluding the opposition."

Regarding the regulations on execution, Koçyiğit also said the following:

"We also conveyed to the AK Party group that this package must definitely be passed before the holiday. When we talk to all other political parties, we see that there is a consensus on this matter. If it comes to the committee this week, we expect it to be opened for signature today or tomorrow. As far as we understand today, they will consult on the final version among themselves. If it is opened for signature tomorrow, we expect it to come to the committee on Thursday or Friday and to the General Assembly agenda next week, and to be enacted rapidly before the holiday. We have conveyed our demands. We do not know how many of these demands they will include. When the package is opened for signature, we will have the chance to see it all together, but we have expressed very clearly and explicitly that there must be articles in this package that can meet the social expectation in prisons and contribute to the process. If you pass this package without putting anything in it, this shows in practice that you are showing a different approach to the process."

News Source: 12punto