AKEL on the persecution of Levent and Kavala by the Erdogan government

 

The West’s stance towards Turkey reveals and exposes its double standards policy

27 April 2022, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The jail sentence imposed on Turkish Cypriot journalist Sener Levent by the Ankara Criminal Court for “offending” Tayyip Erdogan follows the series of persecutions by the occupying power against progressive and democratic voices within the Turkish Cypriot community. At the same time, the sentence of life imprisonment imposed on Turkish activist Osman Kavala on charges of “attempting to overthrow the government” marks the day-to-day growing authoritarianism in Turkey.

All this is happening at the same time as Turkey – a NATO member state, an EU candidate for accession and a privileged trading partner of the West – is being proclaimed a “force for peace” and “security guarantor” in Ukraine. For years now, the West has not only been defiantly and systematically downplaying Turkey’s glaring violations of international law and human rights, but has indeed continued to support, trade and sell arms to Erdogan’s Turkey. Even on Turkey’s recent new invasion of Iraq, the US-EU-NATO has maintained a deafening silence. The West’s stance towards Turkey reveals and exposes its double standards policy.

AKEL will once again raise the issue of the persecution of Turkish Cypriot and Turkish fighters and activists by the Turkish state in all the international parliamentary forums in which it participates.

In addition, AKEL expresses its full solidarity with Sener Levent and all our Turkish Cypriot compatriots who are struggling against the imposition of the will of Turkey and the Erdogan government on their community and against Ankara’s partitionist and aggressive policy against Cyprus. Furthermore, AKEL also express its solidarity with all the forces struggling in Turkey for democratic freedoms, human rights and peace.