Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the action that could be taken to assist freedom of expression in Egypt and Turkey; and what assessment they have made of whether fair criticism would improve the economy and the quality of government in each country.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
More political progress is essential for Egypt’s long-term stability. This includes freedom of the press, as well as freedom of expression in all its forms. We also want to see better protection of Egyptians’ constitutional rights and more space for non-governmental organisations and civil society. Ministers and officials regularly raise our concerns with their Egyptian counterparts. When the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), met President Sisi on 5 November they spoke about the need for political progress in Egypt as the essential foundation for Egypt’s long-term stability. For further details of our assessment I am attaching relevant extracts from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s 2013 and 2014 Human Rights and Democracy Reports.
We regularly underline the importance of all fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression,with the Turkish government. The EU’s 2015 Annual Progress Report on Turkey highlighted that the high turnout in elections this year were a clear sign of the strength of Turkish democracy, and that the Turkish economy is well advanced, while recognising that Turkey needs to do more to meet EU standards through continuing to reform, particularly in the areas of fundamental rights and rule of law. Active and credible accession negotiations remain the best way for Turkey to make further progress.
