BY TURGUT TARHANLI
RADIKAL- Last week the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) released its third report on Turkey. Our leaders and media rebuffed the report and its arguments that despite legislative reforms, gaps remain concerning racism and intolerance in Turkey's Constitution and its civil, criminal and administrative codes, particularly concerning allegedly compulsory religion courses and religious affiliation listings on national ID cards. However, of course it covered many other issues as well. The report drew a swift reaction from our politicos and media, both because we lack sufficient background on the ECRI’s activities, and also because the commission failed to provide reporters with adequate and unbiased information on the report.
The ECRI, which was established by the Council of Europe (CoE), is an independent human rights monitoring body specializing in questions relating to racism and intolerance. Its members are completely independent. The ECRI carries a heavy burden, as discrimination is a widespread problem which can take many forms even in the most developed democracies. For example, over 2003-2004 in France, racist incidents rose some 30%.
Moreover, the ECRI is one institution within the CoE that Turkey has long supported. It’s no surprise that a country which has millions of immigrant citizens living in European countries lends its full support to an independent body dealing with such sensitive issues as racism, discrimination and xenophobia.
But the other side of the coin must be our domestic legislation and practices. Unfortunately, Turkey is suffering from certain gaps and shortcomings in its application of reforms. Discrimination isn’t always as systematic or clear-cut as apartheid, South Africa’s old policy of segregation. It can take many forms, visible and invisible, and intrude into our daily lives.
To fight discrimination, there needs to be an autonomous body to deal with such issues. However, Turkey lacks this. There is only a small unit within the body of the Labor Ministry. In addition to such official agencies, we also need to change our mindset so we can grasp that discrimination isn’t peculiar to the public space, and in fact can exist anywhere, even in our most private relations.