Turkey Accepts Human Rights Program

Turkish officials agreed to a U.S.-designed program to refurbish the country’s tarnished human rights reputation Saturday, a step that Secretary of State Warren Christopher said would clear the way for increased economic and political cooperation between the longtime military allies.

Christopher said the United States and Turkey “will work very intensively . . . to end human rights abuses” here--although he conceded that Washington’s own record is not spotless, singling out the Rodney G. King beating as an example of American abuses.

Christopher also made it clear that the United States will not try to override a decision by U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali that effectively bars Turkish troops from the international force being assembled to defend Muslim safe areas in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Turkey’s Parliament has already voted to contribute troops if asked to do so.

At a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hikmet Cetin, Christopher said the United Nations has ruled out ground troops from any Balkan country in establishing the peacekeeping force for the shattered Yugoslav federation. While not challenging that decision, Christopher noted that Turkish warplanes are already helping enforce the “no-fly” zone over Bosnia and could participate in air cover for the safe areas if the North Atlantic Treaty Organization command wants them.

Cetin said Turkey considers the U.N. safe-area plan inadequate to protect Muslim civilians from besieging Serbian militiamen. He said Turkey has long called for an end to the arms embargo against the Muslim-led Bosnian government and for allied air strikes at Serbian military positions. Christopher said that plan remains Washington’s “preferred option” even though the Administration has endorsed the proposal for safe areas.

According to a senior State Department official, Christopher handed Turkish leaders a detailed rights plan. The official refused to discuss the details because he said such matters can be best handled through quiet diplomacy. But he said it is encouraging that Turkey is willing to take on the program and to openly discuss the issue.

Christopher held separate meetings with Cetin, newly elected President Suleyman Demirel and acting Prime Minister Erdal Inonu.

Talking to reporters before his meeting with Christopher, Inonu said Turkey faces a serious threat from terrorism, but he added, “We challenge any country in the world to come up and tell us they have a better human rights record than ourselves.” But he said his government is engaged in “development of democratic systems in Turkey.”

Christopher told Inonu, “Our record in the United States is not perfect, either.”

Asked at his press conference later to explain his remark, Christopher cited the work of the commission he headed that in 1991 investigated the Los Angeles Police Department in the wake of the King beating case. He said he found “unnecessary violence on the part of the police.”

The State Department’s worldwide human rights report issued earlier this year recorded a number of political killings in Turkey in 1992. It said that “at least 15 people died in suspicious circumstances while in official custody.”

The human rights organization Helsinki Watch reported earlier this month that at least four people have died in custody this year.

Nevertheless, the senior State Department official said that Turkey’s human rights record is not so bad that Washington would consider reducing support for the NATO ally.

“Human rights are always a consideration for the United States, but they have to be considered against a number of other factors,” Christopher said.

“Even with the end of the Cold War, Turkey lives in a tough neighborhood,” Christopher said. The Administration believes Turkey “continues to deserve high levels of security assistance, and we will fight to get funding for our requests through Congress.”