Romanian NGOs, professional associations and several citizens sent an open letter to President Klaus Iohannis, PM Dacian Ciolos and FM Lazar Comanescu, asking for a steadfast position related to the observance of human rights in Turkey.
“The signatories of the open letter asks the Romanian diplomacy leaders (President, Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs minister) to take stand to “the alarming evolutions in Turkey in the past days) and to act in compliance with the values which are underlying the transatlantic community that Romania is part of. The letter reminds that the failed coup of July 15 has been preceded by the judiciary purge- over 45,000 police officers and 2,500 magistrates have been transferred from their positions in 2014, a move that many considered a move to stop the corruption investigations and to undermine the judiciary’s independence,” reads a press release by the National Union of Judges in Romania.
1,500 people have signed the letter so far.
The letter also says that “Turkey is a strategic partner of Romania and no Romanian official has voiced any stance regarding the need of human rights and rule of law observance (…) One can remark that the Erdogan regime is exercising retaliation and threats which are breaking the human rights and raise questions related to the Turkish democracy, considering that, however, the situation in Turkey was alarming also before the recent events.”
Among those who sign the letter, there are Active Watch, APADOR-CH, VeDemJust Association, the Association of the Magistrates in Romania, the Center for the Legal Resources, youth and students associations and trade unions.