TURKISH ELECTIONS

That this House recognises that the outcome of the forthcoming parliamentary election in Turkey will have a profound effect upon the future course of the negotiations over that country's EU membership bid; urges the Turkish government to ensure that this election is conducted in a free and fair manner in all parts of the country; regrets that the 10 per cent. threshold for individual parties to obtain parliamentary representation has not been eliminated or reduced; expresses deep concern about the growing repression of the Democratic Society Party and its candidates; deplores the recent ruling by the Turkish Council of State to dismiss the Mayor and Council of the Sur district of the city of Diyarbakir following the municipality's decision to provide official services in those languages, Kurdish, English and Syriac as well as Turkish, spoken by the majority of its population; and urges the Government to call on the Turkish government to ensure the immediate reinstatement of the Mayor, end the gross violations of the democratic, linguistic and cultural rights of the Kurds and all other minorities and guarantee free and fair elections in Turkey.