Dogan: It Is Not Correct To Say That There Are Human Rights Violations On Large Scale

KAHRAMANMARAS - State Minister Ali Dogan said on Saturday that the issue of human rights is a sine-qua-non principle of the free and developed modern world, adding that ''human rights is necessary for human beings to live a free and honourable life.''
Speaking to A.A correspondent, Dogan said that it is not correct to say that there are human rights violations on a large scale in Turkey, adding that it is also not correct to say that there are no human rights violations in Turkey at all.
Recalling that there is state ministry in charge of human rights in Turkey, Dogan said that the most important impediment in human rights in Turkey are the ones that stand in front of the right to freedom of thought and expression.
''There are around 3,000 cases pending before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) which are applications against Turkey. We were asked to pay a compensation worth of 10 million dollars due to the cases which were concluded against us,'' Dogan said.
Dogan said that there are restrictions on tv channels in EU countries, adding that ''yet the sanctions are not in the form of temporarily ending the broadcasts, they are generally in the form of fines. It is also not correct not to restrict the broadcasts.''