Congress President a.i. condemns electoral violence in Turkey
"I condemn the violence which erupted during local elections in Turkey on 29 March, leaving six people dead and some hundred injured," Ian Micallef, President a.i. of the Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, stressed today.
"It is both tragic and absurd when the ultimate exercise in democracy - elections - led to bloodshed. A public inquiry must be carried out as soon as possible into the causes of this violence, which tarnished the quality of the system of democratic elections, and those responsible must be brought to justice. There can be no justification for violence, which must be renounced as a way of bringing attention or putting pressure to solve existing problems," he said.
President a.i. Micallef regretted the loss of life and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and the Turkish authorities, Council of Europe Press Service reported.
"It is both tragic and absurd when the ultimate exercise in democracy - elections - led to bloodshed. A public inquiry must be carried out as soon as possible into the causes of this violence, which tarnished the quality of the system of democratic elections, and those responsible must be brought to justice. There can be no justification for violence, which must be renounced as a way of bringing attention or putting pressure to solve existing problems," he said.
President a.i. Micallef regretted the loss of life and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and the Turkish authorities, Council of Europe Press Service reported.
