§ Mr. ReedTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of human rights abuses against the Christian population in Turkuey. [125760]
§ Mr. VazWe have received reports of alleged human rights abuses against Christians in Turkey. In December 1999, we received reports of police raids on Christian churches in Istanbul and Izmir, and, recently, of two Turkish Christians arrested in Izmir for distributing Christian literature. Officials from the British Embassy in Ankara have raised both these cases with the Turkish authorities. The trial of the two Christians arrested in Izmir was attended by a representative from our Consulate in Izmir and we were pleased to see both were acquitted in May and permission granted for the return of their material.
§ Mr. ReedTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations(a) he and (b) his European counterparts have made to the Turkish authorities concerning the harassment of Christians in Turkey [125740]
§ Mr. VazWe have a long standing concern about the position of the Greek and Syrian Orthodox communities in Turkey. We continue to monitor closely the situation of minorities in Turkey and, where appropriate, to raise with Turkish authorities cases of human rights abuses against minorities. In December 1999, we received reports of police raids on Christian churches in Istanbul and Izmir, and, recently, of two Turkish Christians arrested in Izmir for distributing Christian literature. The trial of the two Christians arrested was attended by a representative from our Consulate in Izmir and we were pleased to see that both were acquitted in May.
We know that other EU partners are also concerned about these issues at and we understand that they, too, have raised their concerns with the Turkish authorities.
§ Mr. ReedTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to assist in the training of the Turkish police in human rights matters. [125761]
§ Mr. VazThere is currently a comprehensive police training project under way in Turkey. We have allocated £107,000 to this project which builds on police training workshops held last year. The objective is to increase dialogue on issues of interest to both the British and Turkish police by holding seminars on public order, anti-terrorism, custody and detention. The project focuses on policing methods that protect human rights and are in line with international human rights law. As part of this project, a group of Turkish policemen visited Britain in May to study British policing methods. Further training projects are planned with the Turkish police which are likely to focus on transparency and accountability.