GROWING SIGNS OF DESPERATION

Ofem Uket writes that Turkey’s attempt to forcibly repatriate some of its citizens is an uphill task

Though official documents are yet to be presented to foreign governments on the purported plan by Turkish authorities to force the return of its citizens abroad by cancelling their passports thereby compelling countries of residence to send them back, it is important to warn that such application lacks merit and falls short of Nigeria judicial standards.

The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which has major similarities with that of the US confers citizenship on any one resident in any part of the country above 12 calendar months, therefore guarantees rights and liberties as provided by law.

Correspondences, materials and acclaimed evidences sent to the US demanding the extradition or forceful return of Fethulah Gulen and some military officers from Turkey fell short of the standards of the US Department of Justice and the courts, therefore out rightly turned down by Washington.

Turkey is expanding efforts abroad to capture opponents by cancelling their passports to force foreign governments to send them back, Turkish officials said, describing the strategy that the government has adopted to further clamp down on opposition.

The efforts accelerated this spring in what one of the officials said is part of a counterterrorism campaign focused on Turkish followers of U.S.based cleric Fethullah Gulen, a critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan whose network Turkey classifies averse to Erdogan’s autocratic rule.

American officials have declined Turkish demands to return dozens of Turkish military officers as U.S. officials say they don’t believe material sent by Turkey intended to implicate Fethullah Gulen in failed coup plot meets U.S. judicial standards.

Also Canada, Germany and Sweden have approved asylum requests by academics and journalists who fear persecution for their links to Mr. Gulen or opposition to President Erdogan, with the specifics that Turkey has the highest level of human rights abuse and violation.

Greece declined demands to return Turkish military officials wanted for alleged links to the failed summer coup, because its officials and relevant security agencies in Greece have demanded for concrete evidence to show involvement in the last year’s attempted military intervention in Turkey.

Last year, a similar request was made to the Nigeria government by Turkish envoy asking the federal government to shut down schools and colleges including all investments belonging to Turks residents in Nigeria and believed to be sympathisers of Hizmet movement founded by Fethulah Gulen.

Turkish envoy went further to announce a scholarship scheme for Nigerian students in Turkey as a lobby strategy to get the attention of government to grant its frivolous request and when that was botched Turkish authorities arrested Nigerian students in Turkey for alleged involvement in the July 2016 coup attempt.

It is very clear that Turkey as a nation is still wallowing in ignorance for looking down on its citizens to the extent that it demonstrates its human rights violation and gross absence of respect for the rule of law in foreign land.

Who does President Erdogan think he is? Was he created by God? Or is he more superior to any other humans on earth? Why must a responsible president go after the lives of people in his country?

In the reform process of the Nigeria judiciary, it is even more difficult now than ever before to initiate the process of extradition or force the return of citizens who are not found to be guilty of any crime. The judicial standards in the country are undergoing formidable reforms to check abuses.

However, there are regulations and international conventions on human rights and major organs like the United Nations, European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) must rise up to save our brothers and sisters in Turkey from the hands of a despot who will stop at nothing to see that his tyrannical rule is not opposed by any citizen.

We can admit that these major bodies have at various times warned Erdogan not to use the foiled coup to abuse the rights of citizens and deploy tougher measures to further clamp down on opposition through emergency rule which has suspended the constitution.

Turkey has used lobby groups to convince US in the previous government led by President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden, who at separate meetings with President Erdogan told Turkish authorities that no individual or group of people in the U S are empowered to force the return of any foreigner except on grounds of crimes.

In the early weeks of President Donald Trump regime, Turkey intensified efforts to see if the new government will succumb to pressure through a lobby group linked to former National Security Adviser to the President Michael Flyn, but the deal could not be sealed because of strong institutions in the US which do not leave loopholes for exploitation.

We were told part of the reasons why Michael Flyn resigned was his lobby company’s involvement in trying to push too hard for the extradition of the Islamic scholar Fethulah Gulen by the U S government without due process and trial in court.

Turkish officials accuse Mr. Gulen of masterminding a failed July coup attempt and consider his religious network a grave national security threat. Mr. Gulen and his supporters dismiss the accusations as politically motivated and he has denied any role in the coup, saying he rejects violence.

The U.N. Human Rights Office in Southeast Asia said it had serious concerns regarding the safety in Turkey of planned deportation of citizens to come home and face trials and be put in detention camps established to dehumanise the opposition.

Nine months later after the July attempted military intervention, authorities in Turkey have continued to arrest and detain farmers, teachers, traders, lawyers, journalists, judges, civil liberty group members, university lecturers as coup plotters without a trace of who actually was responsible for the plot.

It is either negligence or incompetence on the part of security intelligence in Turkey or a grand plot to eliminate opposition by the state to further rule by decrees and acquire sweeping powers to abuse people’s rights, liberties and freedom. Uket wrote from Abuja