A delegation of observers from Spain, including Basque, Catalan and Spanish Members of Parliament, regional senators and civil-society leaders, were detained and deported from Turkey as last week’s crucial elections took place. The incident provoked a strong diplomatic response from Spain, which has traditionally had good relations with its NATO partner Turkey due in part to shared concerns over the alleged separatism of minority communities.
Among those detained and expelled from Turkey were an MP from the Basque Bildu party, Jon Iñarritu, the national party secretary of the Catalan Party, Isabel Chacón, and trade union confederation Intersindikal’s Tino Brugo. PODEMOS, a prominent left-wing party whose representatives were among those detained, strongly condemned the detentions and expulsion of the election observers.
During the run up to Turkey’s 14 May elections, Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Green Left Party (YSP) and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) invited international organisations, political parties, trade unions, and activists to serve as election observers. Speaking to Medya News, Basque MP Iñarritu explained the circumstances of their arrest, the message it sends to the international community, and what it means for the democratic process in Turkey.
Could you summarise what happened during your deportation?
We were invited to attend by the HDP, to observe the elections in Turkey and Kurdistan, because they have doubts about the voting process. I represented my party Bildu, and we had a delegation of about ten members representing other parties and unions, including PODEMOS.
We had our first problems at 9AM when the police took our passports and forced us to go the police station in Eruh, near Siirt. I explained I was a member of the Spanish Parliament, and they told us it was OK. We went to the polls, but after the polls closed and we left Eruh we were stopped at a checkpoint, who told us to go to the police station.
I called the Spanish embassy in Ankara… the Ambassador was a little bit angry, because the Turkish police were lying to him. The Spanish government was very involved and supportive.
The police questioned another member of the delegation about a tweet he’d written that morning, but I think this was just an excuse. There were ten of us in the police station. The regional police chief came to our group with ten members of an anti-terror unit, dressed in black, to try and intimidate us – but they didn’t manage. I’m from the Basque country, and a member of the internal affairs committee. I know a little bit about police techniques!
The police chief told us we had the option to give fingerprints and sign a declaration accepting we came to interfere in the election [and be released], but we didn’t accept this. Finally, the ambassador explained to the police officer that the situation was unacceptable, and this pressure liberated us at 6.15 AM, under the condition that we left the country immediately. It was a kind of irregular deportation.
What was the response from the Spanish government?
I know the Spanish authorities were very angry, because they have a good relationship with Turkey. Spain helped Turkey a lot, following the earthquake three months ago, and they are [partners in] NATO. Spain presented Turkey with a formal protest, saying they were angry with the treatment we received, as three Spanish MPs and another seven Spanish citizens.
Other parliamentary delegations also attended the elections. Why was your delegation targeted in particular?
On the one hand, Siirt region is [particularly] complicated, sensitive for the Turkish authorities. The Spanish ambassador told me this was the decision of the governor and chief of police of Siirt, who did that to force us to abandon Turkey. On the other, our arrest was a coincidence. In Istanbul airport, I met some representatives of other states who explained they did have problems with certification and checkpoints – but were not conducted to the police station.
What were your broader observations of the electoral process?
In my opinion, the purpose of Turkey’s actions was to avoid international observers assisting the HDP in the second round of elections. If you are transparent, if you are proud of your elections and democratic system, there wouldn’t be such problems. We were there helping and supporting the leading political force [HDP] in that region, in south-eastern Turkey. Also, the police presence was not normal. It was a little bit aggressive – when you see heavily-armed people with military weapons in schools, in front of the gates, it’s a little bit intimidating.
For the rest, though, my feeling was I observed a normal process of voting, with some irregular actions, but no campaign to manipulate the outcome. I was also told that national agencies were giving pro-government information that was not neutral, while other reports by the Council of Europe and European Security organisations, stated that in some places there were lots of problems, in Eruh the situation was more or less normal.
Should the Spanish government and other authorities be taking further steps ahead of the 28 May run-off elections?
I think international organisations like the EU and CoE should send observation delegations, especially as Turkey is a NATO and CoE member and EU candidate. I think that, given in some regions the governors and police chiefs don’t want international observers, it’s important to supervise the process via the presence of international observers.
