Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on recent arrests by the Turkish government of members of the (a) Kurdish political opposition and (b) Daesh in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington

We are closely monitoring all of these and related events in Turkey and the region. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) continues to kill members of the Turkish police service and security forces. We support Turkey’s right to defend itself against all forms of terrorism. We have been clear that the PKK must cease its violence and the peace process needs to be resumed. The UK stands ready to help in any way it can in this regard. I last raised this with my Turkish counterpart when we met in August.

The Government continues to monitor closely Turkey’s democratic reforms, including as part of the EU accession process, focusing particularly on freedom of expression, respect for the rule of law and minority rights.

We welcome Turkey’s invaluable contribution to the international campaign against Daesh, particularly its agreement for the use of its airspace and airbases, as a member of the Global Coalition committed to defeating it. Turkey has been carrying out military strikes against Daesh since July 2015, and state that they have detained over 2,500 Daesh suspects since 2013, of whom one third are foreigners. Turkey recognises the role that Syrian Kurds have to play in the fight against Daesh, and accepts that Syrian Kurds receive Coalition support.