Minority Report

BY FIKRET BILA
MILLIYET- The Prime Ministry’s Human Rights Advisory Board (IHDK) was unable to release its report on minority and cultural rights. The board reworked the report due to objections to the initial version, and a press conference held by Ibrahim Kaboglu on the board’s behalf was interrupted by certain board members. It’s a shame that a high-ranking board including scholars, experts and representatives of both non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and unions was unable to express its view without a fight. Yesterday, Kaboglu said that the board had completed the report, but some board members claimed that it hadn’t been voted on properly. They refused to recognize it and called for another board meeting. Kaboglu stated that the report had been voted on properly and approved by a majority, but he didn’t give an exact tally.
If a board has sharp disagreements, the solution isn’t interrupting a press conference but including the views of both the majority and the minority. The IHDK is neither the Parliament, nor the government. It is an advisory board and its views should have been released to the public in a democratic way.