Coronavirus, lacking the property of “contagion” at the power holders’ rallies and demonstrations over the past 3 months, has found an ideal environment within which to spread at opposition supporters’, women’s and bar associations’ actions (!)
İhsan Çaralan
Reaction is intensifying to the banning until 1 December of such events staged by professional bodies, unions and cooperatives as the general assembly of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations or congresses of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects under the Interior Ministry’s circular of 2 October 2020.
The postponement of the bar association elections under the circular issued at the last moment was greeted with particular scorn by bar associations, set to be “corralled” under the “transition to the multiple bar association system.”
Stating that bar association elections, whose date is set by law, could not be postponed by an Interior Ministry circular, Izmir Bar Association has proclaimed that it will hold the elections on 17-18 October as announced. And Jurists for Democracy has said, “To spoil the game, we call for a rallying round the law, our bar associations and the profession, for all bar association administration boards to convene general assemblies and for our colleagues to attend general assemblies.” On top of this, the announcement has come from 77 bar associations, “While giving notification that we will continue our struggle by legal means in opposition to this lawlessness, we reiterate by way of reminder that this non-recognition of the law will do irreparable harm to the principle of legal certainty and our democracy.”
Even if a glance at the wording and reasons in the Interior Ministry’s circular gives the impression that all kinds of crowd-forming events like congresses and meetings that create an environment for the virus to spread have been banned, it has emerged that this is not the aim of the circular because the Supreme Election Council (SEC) has issued the opinion in response to applications that the circular does not cover political parties’ and trade unions’ congresses, while the congresses and general assemblies of bar associations and other professional organizations can be prevented under Provincial Hygiene Board decisions!
It would appear that the SEC, having by now obviously become an AKP adjunct, is, in common with the Interior Ministry, heedless to the requirement enshrined in the founding statute of professional organizations for the holding of congresses “every two years in even years.” This brings us to the realization that the sole aim of the ban is to prevent the congresses of the bar associations, the Turkish Medical Association, the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects and other labour and professional organizations.
As to the reason parties’ congress activities have been excluded from the circular, this is quite clearly not to avoid disruption to the EMEP’s sub-provincial and provincial congresses that have started and its general congress slated for November, but the congresses the MHP and AKP have scheduled!
The Turkish Medical Association, Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects and other professional organizations have yet to materially articulate their reactions. But with emphasis on the illegality of this circular’s most concrete aim – that of preventing bar associations’ congresses – and the blatant violation of professional organizations’ founding statute coming to the fore in the struggle, this also brings the legal dimension of the issue into stark relief.
However, we can make the following conclusions, taking account of the Interior Ministry’s circular and the decree the SEC has issued in line with this circular:
At the very first outbreak of the coronavirus, Evrensel argued that the virus was biological but its spreading was class-based and, thus, pointing out that the virus would hit the working class and workers the hardest, that measures should be taken informed by this fact. Over time, academic research has also revealed that the virus spreads in a class-based manner.
However, a fact has also come to light over the process that had initially escaped Evrensel’s attention! While the virus does not spread within certain political activities, conversely, it spreads at extraordinary speed within certain political activities!
In fact, the virus, lacking the property of “contagion” at the power holders’ rallies and demonstrations over the past three months, has found an ideal environment within which to spread at opposition supporters’, the HDP’s, women’s and bar associations’ actions and events. And, so as to protect those on the opposition from the virus, the power holders have regretfully been forced to ban their rallies and events!
We have seen this implemented in various ways, but until now this has been done under provincial governors’ politically motivated bans. This time, we have witnessed the taking of a further step forward with it happening under an Interior Ministry circular and its political nature blatantly put on show, and the SEC having issued a decree!
We thus realize that this cursed coronavirus is exceptionally aware: it spreads just where the single-man government wishes it to!
Otherwise, the Interior Ministry’s circular would have been a circular drafted in an excessively partial manner and this would most certainly not befit a ministry that is supposed to adhere to the law!
Is this not so?
Hediye Levent
Yusuf Karadaş
Yücel Özdemir