ANKARA: Human rights activists in Turkey have warned that upcoming legislation will further restrict the limited space being allocated to civil society in the country. 

A draft law that is expected to be rushed through the parliament this week has sparked concerns about the underlying motives of the government to put a strain on the country’s fragile civil society actors. 

The bill has been proposed to counter the financing of weapon proliferation, with Turkey at risk of being placed on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “gray list” due to insufficient measures against financial crimes. 

However, the law also includes controversial articles allowing the government to appoint trustees to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and to temporarily suspend their activities and assets if members of those groups face a terror-related investigation.

The Turkish branches of international NGOs are also included in the contested legislation. 

Controversial “terror” charges have become a tool of Turkish rulers to continue their severe crackdown on dissidents, including mayors in Kurdish-led municipalities, ex-chairs of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) or members of left-wing associations. 

Several municipalities run by the HDP in the country are now governed by government-appointed trustees. 

With the new bill, the organizations’ fundraising activities will also be monitored by the Interior Ministry. 

“The government has introduced a lot of irrelevant items in the draft bill. These provisions can be used randomly against the associations, which would result in the closure of all democratic channels,” Engin Altay, the CHP’s deputy parliamentary head, said on Dec. 21.

Experts underline that the bill aims to suffocate Turkey’s once-vibrant civil society by creating a climate of fear with Big Brother-type surveillance methods.  

Ozturk Turkdogan, president of Turkey’s Human Rights Association, said this new bill would put all civil society actors under the tutelage of the Interior Ministry with routine monitoring of their activities. 

“If there is an element of crime, it is possible to launch a criminal investigation against the activities of associations. But, making this as a regular initiative of the state authorities would interfere into the internal affairs of civil society organizations,” he told Arab News. 

Turkdogan added that this intervention into freedom of association goes against the international norms Turkey should abide by. 

“If it is legislated and if it is not vetoed by the president, we will resort all relevant legislation to the jurisdiction, and we will make sure that this overt intervention into our civil sphere becomes visible on the international platforms,” he said. 

Recently, the Solidarity Network for Human Rights Defenders, a network of 22 human rights organizations in Turkey, complained that NGOs in Turkey are still under government pressure, with their free operational space being constrained due to coronavirus restrictions. 

NGOs are not allowed to hold their general assemblies until Feb. 28, and all outdoor protests have been banned throughout the year. Several doctors have been arrested and investigated after criticizing the government’s handling of the pandemic. 

CHP lawmaker Utku Cakirozer said that the bill will likely undermine civil society in the country.

“It is against the constitution, it will render NGOs working on human rights dysfunctional. If it is adopted, it will lead to more conflict between domestic law and international norms,” he said.  

There are about 121,000 registered associations in Turkey, while the hundreds of NGOs were permanently closed and their assets seized following the 2016 failed coup attempt and the subsequent state of emergency. 

The bill is expected to be adopted in the Turkish parliament this week.

CAIRO: The Egyptian government has denied reports of a bird flu outbreak in the southwestern Al-Wadi Al-Gedid Governorate.

The General Authority for Veterinary Services rejected claims on some media websites that the isolated province has been been hit by the outbreak.

Egypt’s Ministry of Agriculture urged media outlets and social media users to seek accuracy in news publishing and to contact the authorities before publishing.

The bird flu (commonly known as H5N1) strain spread in the early 2000s in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, resulting in the slaughter of tens of millions of chickens and ducks.

World Health Organization (WHO) officials said that many people were infected and several died.

Egypt suffered a major outbreak of bird flu in 2006, which led to the suspension of all poultry exports.

Authorities have been pressing for a renewal of exports and, earlier this year, the World Organization for Animal Health, an intergovernmental body, declared Egypt free of bird flu for the first time in 14 years.

Infections with bird flu and other forms of zoonotic influenza in humans may cause illnesses ranging from mild conjunctivitis to pneumonia, but can also be life threatening, according to the WHO.

CAIRO: The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population has suspended vacations for medical staff in hospitals and health units in an effort to step up its anti-coronavirus campaign.

An official source told Egyptian media that the ministry will stop granting or renewing vacations to doctors, nursing staff, technicians, administrators and health sector workers as part of a plan to confront the second virus wave.

The source added that the ministry will also end non-compulsory vacations, including travel abroad.

On Monday evening, Egypt recorded its highest rate of coronavirus cases and deaths during the second wave, with 718 new cases and 32 deaths.

Hossam Hosni, head of Egypt’s coronavirus committee in the Ministry of Health and Population, said that Egypt is facing three strains of coronavirus, one of which is weak, meaning that rumors of dangerous new strains of the virus entering the country are false.

Hosni said that Egypt will forbid entry to anyone entering the country from abroad until negative tests are returned.

Egyptian media reported that about 30 hospitals have been rehabilitated in Cairo to isolate coronavirus patients.

A source said that although coronavirus cases are increasing, the surge in specially designed facilities means Egypt is prepared against a second wave.

“We wish people to abide by the precautionary measures, as the virus spreads faster and most of the infected people do not show symptoms, and the precautionary measures are a lifeline at this stage,” the source said.

Minister of Health Hala Zayed held a meeting on Sunday evening with several major medical oxygen companies to discuss ways to provide strategic stocks of medical gas in all Egyptian governorate hospitals.

LONDON: The 6-year-old daughter of one of Iran’s most high-profile political prisoners has written a card to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking him to bring home her mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in time for Christmas. 

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who turns 42 on Saturday, is expected to spend her fifth Christmas away from her family, having been imprisoned since 2016 on highly contentious allegations of espionage and an attempt to overthrow the Iranian regime.

In the card to the prime minister, her daughter said: “Dear Boris Johnson, please can you bring my mummy home for Christmas. She has been good. When she comes back I want to cuddle her first and then go to the toy shop with her. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Love Gabriella.”

Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family has been campaigning for her release non-stop since her imprisonment.

Measures to draw attention to the case have included a joint hunger strike between her and her husband Richard, who camped outside the Iranian Embassy in London.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was given a temporary release from the notorious Evin Prison in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, which Tehran struggled to contain.

She is now back under house arrest at her parents’ home in Tehran. No date has been set for her next court hearing.

JERUSALEM: A gunman opened fire on Israeli police in Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday, before being chased down by officers who shot him dead, police said.
“The suspect reached Huta gate (near the Al-Aqsa mosque compound) and shot at the police position with an (assault) rifle,” a police statement said.
“The officers went in pursuit after the terrorist while shooting at him,” the statement added, with a spokesman confirming to AFP the suspect had been killed.
One police officer was lightly wounded when he fell during the chase, the statement said.
The police spokesman could not provide details on the assailant’s identity.
Similar past attacks have been carried out by Palestinians from Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, as well as by Arab Israelis.
From October 2015, Israel and the West Bank saw a wave of “lone wolf” attacks on Israelis by predominantly young, knife-wielding Palestinians.
Car-ramming attacks were also used, and more rarely, firearms. The attacks have become less frequent but have not stopped altogether.
Israel annexed east Jerusalem, which includes the Old City, following the 1967 Six-Day War, in a move not recognized by most of the international community.