Monday 8 January 2007

Koivunen: Turkey passport law

From Holland to Kurdistan's Vladimir van Wilgenburg was kind enough to paste as a comment on the 25th of December post, "Turkey: Koivunen ethnocide definition", a post from (what I can now confirm is Kristiina Koivunen's own blog), explaining that
The Foreign Ministry of Turkey told 22.12.2006 the Finnish Consulate in Ankara that I am not permitted to enter Turkey due to Turkey's Passport Law 5682 art 8 para 5.

I haven't yet got any written document about my case.

This law is following:

People who are prohibited to enter Turkey:

Article 8 - 1. Tramps and Beggars;

2. Those who have mental or contagious diseases (those who would risk the general health and public order and visit with the purpose of treatment or change of climate for medical reasons either alone or with their legal guardians will be exceptional).

3. Those who are convicted or found guilty for one of the crimes which are considered reason for extradition of criminals as per relevant agreement or agreements, of which Turkey is a party;

4. Those who are deported from Turkey and are not allowed to return back;

5. Those who are discerned to have entered the country with a purpose of violating security and public order of Turkish Republic or to contribute or help those who violate or willing to violate;

6. Prostitutes and those perform business through urging women into prostitution, those who carry out white-slave trade and all types of smugglers;

7. Those who do not have enough money to afford their stay in Turkey and to return back and who cannot provide evidence that there are persons to accommodate them in Turkey or that they can work in Turkey in one of jobs which are not legally prohobited for foreign citizens.
As Koivunen noted, she still hasn't had 'any written document' about her deportation, but she has found and published Turkey's passport law, under which she was deported, which I've reproduced above (from Vladimir van Wilgenburg's comment).

It doesn't say much more than was already known (Turkey had already excused itself on grounds of 'state security'), but by Turkey specifying article 5 of the passport law to the Finnish Consulate, we do now know (if this can be parsed out from the technical violation of the ban on entry), that she was deported (or, if you prefer, she was given the ban that she was deported for breaking) for having 'a purpose of violating security and public order of Turkish Republic or to contribute or help those who violate or willing to violate'.

As far as I know, though, her work was with the Kurdish community, not the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), so it would appear that Turkey regards the Kurdish community as one that violates Turkish security and public order by its mere existence.

4 comments:

  1. Her work was with the Kurdish community. But it maybe has to do with her article. Haven't read it yet.. completely.

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  2. Yeah, I know; her thesis was really good. I just meant to highlight that it looks like the state of Turkey is collapsing the Kurdish community with the Kurdistan Workers' Party.

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  3. Update: http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2007/1/turkeykurdistan1015.htm

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