Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 272: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the communications he has had with the Turkish authorities regarding the continued detention of a person (details supplied) and the ongoing campaign against Kurdish national rights by the Turkish government and its army; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8509/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Abdullah Öcalan has been held in solitary confinement since his arrest on 15 February 1999. The tenth anniversary of his arrest was marked by disturbances in a number of Turkish towns, mainly in the Kurdish areas.

Mr. Öcalan remains the only person detained in the Imrali Island prison near Istanbul. During a visit to the prison in May 2007, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), an arm of the Council of Europe, strongly criticised his conditions of detention, and called on the Turkish authorities to "completely review the situation, with a view to integrating him into a setting where contacts with other inmates and a wider range of activities are possible." The CPT is due to carry out a further visit to Turkey in 2009.

In November 2008, the Turkish Justice Minister confirmed that a new prison facility was being constructed on Imrali with a view to transferring a small number of other prisoners to the island and ending Mr Öcalan's isolation. However, no more details of the government's decision have been made available.

The Embassy in Ankara and the Permanent Representation to the Council of Europe will continue to monitor developments in this case. The Turkish authorities are facing a serious terrorist threat from the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), which is included by the EU in its list of terrorist organisations. One of the key elements of the EU's enlargement negotiations with Turkey is to ensure that legitimate anti-terrorism and security measures do not undermine full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as set out in the European Convention on Human Rights. Ireland, together with its EU partners, will also continue to urge Turkey to implement further reforms which are needed to ensure greater recognition of the rights and cultural identity of the Kurdish minority. The present Turkish government has declared its commitment to tackling the social, political and cultural issues that surround the Kurdish issue in Turkey and it is important that it act in accordance with that commitment.