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Turkey steamed up over CoE's decision to reopen monitoring procedure

Xinhua, April 25, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Council of Europe (CoE), a pan-European rights organization, decided Tuesday to reopen the monitoring procedure on Turkey, a move that sparked outrage in Ankara.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg, France, voted to reopen the monitoring procedure against Turkey with 113 votes for, 45 against, and 12 abstaining. The vote came after debating on a report drawn on by the monitoring committee of the CoE, which raised concerns on "the implementation of the state of emergency, the large-scale and disproportionate effect of the decree laws" in Turkey.

The report also expressed concern about "the constitutional amendments (in particular respect for the separation of powers, checks and balances, and independence of the judiciary) to secure a presidential system," as well as the organizational conditions of the referendum on April 16.

The CoE's decision irritated Ankara, which, in a strongly-worded statement, condemned the "unjust decision of PACE taken with political motives in contravention to the established procedures."

"This decision by the PACE parliamentarians in fact shows an imprudent mind-set lacking strategic vision and ignoring the common and democratic values on which Europe is founded," said the statement issued by the Turkish foreign ministry.

"Deciding to re-open the monitoring procedure on Turkey, a staunch defender of contemporary European ideals and values and a founding member of the Council of Europe, under the guidance of malicious circles at the PACE, is a disgrace to this organ, which claims to be the cradle of democracy," the statement added.

The Turks voted "yes" in a referendum on April 16 to bring about a metamorphosis in the current parliamentary model of government into a presidential system, with a limited set of checks and balances among the governing authorities.

It was staunchly promoted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but many in Turkey and Europe believe that the change in system grants the president too much power.

The PACE decided to close the monitoring procedure on Turkey in 2004, after Ankara put in place a set of reforms in the early 2000s. Since then, Turkey has engaged in a post-monitoring dialogue with the CoE. Endit