lm cezasna kar savlar

lm cezasnn kaldrlmas ynnde kresel bir eilim varken, Babakan Recep Tayyip Erdoan, son gnlerde, pek ok vesileyle, Trkiyenin 10 yl nce kaldrd lm cezasn geri getirmeyi ele almay ortaya att. Malum sebeplerden, herkes Erdoann aklamalarnn zamanlamasyla ilgili speklasyona balad. Acaba bu, lm cezasnn tekrar yrrle konulmasn kuvvetle destekleyen milliyetilerin oylarn cezbetmeye alt 2014 cumhurbakanl kampanyasnn bir paras m? Tam da hkmeti hapisteki yzlerce Krtn alk grevlerine are aramas ynnde gl bask altndayken, kendisinin mehur dikkati baka yne ekme taktiklerinden biri mi? Ya da, tam tersi, alk grevlerine verilmesi kanlmaz dn, bunu sindirmekte zorlanacak AKP semeninin milliyeti kesimi iin ekerle kaplamaya m alyor? Erdoan bu ary her ne sebepten yapm olursa olsun, gerekesine, yani Trkiyenin terrizm ve cinayetlerle baa kabilmek iin lm cezasna ihtiyac olduu nerisine bakalm. Babakann bu deerlendirmesinin temelden yanl olduuna neden inandm sizinle paylaaym. lm cezasna kar etik ve ahlaki ilkeler temelli klasik savn ana fikrini, ldrlen siyah Amerikal sivil haklar savunucusu Martin Luther Kingin dul ei Coretta Scott King yle zetlemitir: Bir er eylemi, misilleme olarak bir baka er eylemiyle telafi edilemez. nsan ldrerek asla adalet yerine getirilemez. Yasal cinayetle ahlak tesis edilemez. 2011in en ok idam gerekletiren lkeler listesindeki tek demokrasi olan ABDde, lm cezas sisteminin ne kadar keyfi, hileli ve adaletsiz olduu tecrbeyle sabit. Uygulama, byk oranda, sanklarn ne kadar paras olduu, avukatlarn ne kadar becerikli olduu, kurbann rk ve suun nerede ilendiine bal. Beyaz rktan olmayanlarn olanlara kyasla idam edilme oran ok daha yksek, hele de kurban beyazsa. Bu sistemin Trkiyede daha iyi ileyeceini dnmek iin bir sebep yok. damn, ar sulardan caydrc zellii yok. ABDde Teksas ve Oklahoma, oldum olas, lm mahkmlarnn en ok idam edildii yerlerdir. Yine de bu eyaletlerin cinayet oranlar artm ve ulusal ortalamay gemitir. Siyasi itkilerle hareket eden terristler iin de lm cezas beyhude bir tehdittir, nk onlar bu yolda can kayplarn onurlandran bir ideoloji adna eylem yaparlar. Trkiye in, ran ve Suudi Arabistann, yani 2011deki idamlarn byk ounluunun msebbibi olan bu lkenin saflarna katlmay gerekten istiyor mu? Babakan konumalarnda in, Rusya ve ABDye atfta bulundu. in, 2011de, dnyann geri kalanndaki idamlarn toplamndan daha fazla insan infaz etti. Trkiyenin kendine rnek alaca bu korkun rekor mu olmaldr? Rusyann 1999da lm cezasna getirdii moratoryum ise sryor. ABDde de

eyaletlerin te biri lm cezasn kaldrd ve dier eyaletlerde lm cezas kart hareket giderek byyor. Ayn Babakan, sadece 10 gn nce, Berlinde AB yeliinin hl Trkiye iin stratejik hedef olduunu beyan etmiti. En basitinden, lm cezasnn yasaklanmas AB Temel Haklar artnn kilit maddelerinden biri olduundan, yeniden yrrle koymann ABye girmekle badamayacan Erdoann bildiini varsaymak durumundayz. Hepsinden nce, Avrupa Komisyonunun Erdoann planlarna verdii tepkide incelikle altn izdii gibi, her artta lm cezasnn kaldrlmasn beraberinde getiren Avrupa nsan Haklar ve Temel zgrlklerin Korunmas Szlemesinin iki protokoln de Trkiye onaylamtr. Baka deyile: Zalim ve insanlk d, uygulamada ayrmc olan ve iddet sular ile terrizmi azaltmada etkinlii olmayan bir cezay yeniden yrrle koymay Trkiye niye ele alsn ki? Trkiye niye bu yzden AB yelii perspektifinden vazgesin, var olan anlamalarn altndan imzasn eksin ve dnyann en berbat insan haklar ihlalcilerinin saflarna katlsn? Babakana arm u: Bu irkin ve gereki olmayan fikirle oynamay brakn ve kar karya kaldnz en acil sorunu zmeye odaklann: Yzlerce Trk vatandann lmn nasl nleyeceksiniz?

Arguments against the death penalty

While there is a global trend toward abolition of the death penalty, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan has recently suggested on several occasions that Turkey should consider bringing back capital punishment 10 years after it was abolished. For obvious reasons, everybody has started to speculate on the timing of Erdoans remarks. Are they part of his campaign for the presidency in 2014 in which he tries to lure nationalist voters who are strongly supportive of reintroducing the death penalty? Is it one of his well-known diversionary tactics at a moment when his government is under strong pressure to respond to the death fasts of hundreds of Kurdish prisoners? Or, just the opposite, is he trying to sugarcoat an upcoming, inevitable compromise on the hunger strikes that will not go down well with the nationalist part of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) electorate? Whatever the reasons for Erdoans call, lets look at the substance of the matter, and that is the suggestion that Turkey needs capital punishment to be able to deal with terrorism and murders. Let me share with you why I believe the prime minister is fundamentally wrong in his assessment. 1. There is the classic argument against the death penalty based on ethics and moral principles. It was pointedly expressed by Coretta Scott King, the widow of the murdered black US civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.: An evil deed is not redeemed by an evil deed of retaliation. Justice

is never advanced in the taking of a human life. Morality is never upheld by a legalized murder. 2. Experience in the US, the only democracy on the list of countries with the highest number of executions in 2011, shows how arbitrary, unfair and unjust the death penalty system is. Its application largely depends on how much money defendants have, the skill of their attorneys, the race of the victim and where the crime took place. People of color are far more likely to be executed than white people, especially if the victim is white. There is no reason to think that the system would work better in Turkey. 3. Capital punishment is not a deterrent to capital crimes. In the US, Texas and Oklahoma have historically executed the highest number of death row inmates. Yet, their state murder rates increased, and both have murder rates higher than the national average. For politically motivated terrorists the death penalty is a futile threat because they usually act in the name of an ideology that honors its martyrs. 4. Does Turkey really want to join China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, the three countries that accounted for the vast majority of executions in 2011? In his speeches the prime minister referred to China, Russia and the US. In 2011 China indeed executed more people than the rest of the world put together, but should that horrible record set an example for Turkey? The Russian moratorium on the death penalty, established in 1999, was continued in 2011, and in the US onethird of the states have already abolished capital punishment, and there is a growing movement against the death penalty in other states. 5. Only 10 days ago, the same prime minister stated in Berlin that EU accession is still a strategic goal for Turkey. One has to assume that he knows that joining the EU is incompatible with reintroducing the death penalty for the simple reason that the prohibition of the death penalty is one of the key provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. On top of that, as the EU Commission subtly underlined in its reaction to Erdoans plans, Turkey has ratified two protocols to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms that provide for the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances. In other words: Why would Turkey consider reintroducing a penalty that is cruel and inhumane, whose application turns out to be discriminatory and not effective in reducing violent crime or terrorism? Why should Turkey give up on its EU membership perspectives for this reason, withdraw its signature under existing treaties and join the ranks of the worlds worst human rights violators? My call on the prime minister: Stop playing around with this nasty and unrealistic idea and concentrate on solving the most urgent problem facing you: How to prevent the death of hundreds of Turkish citizens?
14 Kasm 2012, aramba