In an interview with ANF, the President of Diyarbakır Bar Association, Nahit Eren, stated that in the last 7-8 years, fundamental rights and freedoms have been undermined, and the country has seen a security perspective concerning the Kurdish question and very bad judicial practices. Eren said that they witnessed a judicial crackdown in the cases that concerned the Kurds and the criminalization of oppositional voices.

One should not be too optimistic about the cabinet reshuffle

Eren continued: “Participation in meetings and demonstrations was even subjected to indictments. Now, after a terrible 7-8 years, a cabinet reshuffle naturally leads to a new expectation for all of us. The most important change, in my opinion, was the Minister of Interior, which is an important development. Of course, one should not be too optimistic about the cabinet reshuffle. In my opinion, a system policy, that is, the state policy, is in place.”

The system doesn't rely on individuals

Eren pointed out that: “We do not know whether the cabinet reshuffle will lead to a change in the system or polices, but the current government system is not very dependent on individuals. For example, the new Minister of Justice has been the group deputy chair of the ruling party for years. He is a lawyer. We will see if he will resolve the problem of impartiality and independence of the judiciary in Turkey, but TİP (Workers’ Party of Turkey) Hatay MP Can Atalay has not been released and the minister’s statements on this issue are not very promising.”

Remarking that the judicial and bureaucratic practice in Turkey is related to systemic changes, Eren stated: “When you pursue the security policies of the state while dealing with the Kurdish question, you cannot take even a step forward. More precisely, if you consider the Kurdish question as a pure security issue, violations of rights increase. The practice of the judiciary also changes when you promote dialogue and negotiation when it comes to democracy and freedoms. The bureaucratic hard-line shrinks.”

The new cabinet could be more responsive

Eren emphasized that no matter who comes to power, the Kurds have always demanded peace, democracy, fundamental rights and freedoms. He concluded: “From time to time, these demands were answered positively. There were times when the doors of dialogue were opened. If hawkish policies prevail, conflicts will continue. In this sense, we currently see that there is a serious weariness in the whole of Turkey. The conflict in 2016, the coup attempt, the pandemic, the earthquakes and the economic crisis led to serious weariness in all segments of society. In this respect, what we need is a serious social peace environment. I can say that this government and the new cabinet have a lot of work to do. While a much healthier communication could be established with the bureaucracy and ministries in the past, unfortunately, we could not communicate with Minister of Interior and Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdag in recent years. We could not establish the contact and communication that we had during the term of Abdülhamit Gül. In the new period, I believe that we will have better communication with the new cabinet.”