Turkey and women's rights

Turkey, which hopes to join the EU at some future date, cannot continue to flirt with human rights violations since these set alarm bells ringing not only among those who have been sceptical of Turkey's EU ambitions but more importantly among those who stuck their neck out to argue in favour of Turkey's membership.

Readers will recall that just prior to the publication of the Commission's report on Turkey, which was to serve as a basis on which the Council was to decide whether to approve the start of membership negotiations with Ankara, the Turkish government tried to amend the law which would make adultery a criminal offence.

This led to a strong public outcry throughout the EU and the Turkish application came very near to being stopped in its tracks. Now, as everyone harps on the need for Turkey to implement human rights, Turkish police contingents attack a peaceful demonstration by Turkish women commemorating International Women's Day.

The "disproportionate" use of force by Turkish police to break up a women's day demonstration in Istanbul last Sunday has been condemned by the EU troika, comprising Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn and Britain's Europe Minister Denis MacShane.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament's president, Josep Borrell, said that such oppression was "not helpful" to Turkey's EU application, and the Party of European Socialists (PES) group "condemned this police violence categorically".

Sixty-three people were reportedly arrested after Turkish police employed truncheons and pepper gas against the "illegal" demonstrators. Turkey, where gender equality is not enshrined in the constitution, has pledged to improve women's rights as it legislates changes in the run-up to its EU accession.