Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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389. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on escalating attacks on and the repression of Kurdish people in Turkey; if he is aware that the Turkish authorities have locked down cities in the majority Kurdish South-East of the country, that Turkish police have detained 27 academics who signed a petition denouncing military operations against Kurds in the South-East of the country; and if he will raise these issues with his Turkish counterpart. [2715/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The Government has previously expressed its concerns about the escalation of violence since the breakdown of the ceasefire between the Turkish Government and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) last summer. Since then, unrest, particularly in the south-east of the country, has seen the Turkish authorities impose curfews in a number of towns and cities while militant groups linked to the PKK have erected barricades and used explosives against the authorities, resulting in deadly street battles. According to NGO reports, many hundreds have died since last July, including as many as 240 civilians, along with an estimated 230 Turkish security officers and hundreds more militants. As many as 200,000 civilians are believed to have been displaced. Ireland has been a strong supporter of the peace talks between the Turkish Government and the PKK. The current situation demonstrates further the paramount importance for all sides to cease hostilities and return to dialogue. I condemn in the strongest terms all acts of terrorism, including those acts carried out by Kurdish militants such as the bombing of a police station in Çýnar on 14 January which resulted in the deaths of five civilians and one police officer. Any government operations against militant activity must, of course, fully respect Turkey’s obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law. It is vital that all sides exercise the maximum possible restraint and work immediately to de-escalate tensions and reinstate a ceasefire. I again reiterate Ireland’s firm belief that a fair and lasting solution to this conflict can only be reached through peaceful and democratic means.

I am aware also of the detention of a number of academics on 15 January on charges of engaging in ‘terrorist propaganda’ and insulting the state after they signed a petition, along with as many as 1,000 other academics, critical of the authorities’ military operations. I understand that while these academics were released soon after, investigations against them and others who signed the petition continue. Freedom of expression and the media is fundamental to the functioning of any healthy democracy. It is critically important for Turkey, and for Turkish democracy, that these universal values be upheld, particularly given the current, very difficult situation. Ireland, along with the EU, will continue its dialogue with Turkey on these important issues, including in the context of the recently re-energised EU accession negotiations.