Turkish gov't, opposition join forces for probing child abuse
by Daily Sabah
ISTANBULMar 25, 2016 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Daily Sabah
Mar 25, 2016 12:00 am
As a heated debate started in Turkey over a more effective approach to child abuse after the arrest of a teacher accused of sexually abusing 45 boys in central Anatolia, the ruling party and three opposition parties agreed to launch a probe into abuse cases.
After a brief delay on technicalities, representatives of the parties at the parliament agreed to launch a parliamentary inquiry into cases.
Deputies from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), together with deputies from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) signed a declaration for a joint motion on the case. Naci Bostanı, acting chairman for the ruling AK Partym said they would start deliberations on the foundation of an inquiry committee.
AK Party Group Deputy Chairman Bülent Turan spearheaded the motion together with several other deputies, which said that the child abuse problem was "an issue whose solution cannot be delayed or neglected in any way, and that children should be protected beyond any political or ideological debate." They said in the motion that the lack of a total solution to prevent maltreatment of children, despite reforms and improvements, worried them.
The motion called for a probe to the effects of efforts to prevent child abuse, and to investigate any case of child abuse, as well as working on additional measures on the issue and developing new solutions to the problem.The motion referred to legal amendments to improve children's rights, and noted that Turkey was party to multiple international conventions for the protection of children, and had pursued an integrated policy on the issue since 2011. "Despite all measures, it is worrying that maltreatment of children was not prevented entirely. Maltreatment of children in any way - be it sexual abuse or a simple case of negligence - is a problem, and child abuse is a problem on a global scale," the motion said, noting that it was duty of the state and families to help children live healthy and safe lives.
The move comes after revelation that M.B., a teacher in the central Turkish province of Karaman, was arrested for 45 male students at schools he worked at. M.B. faces multiple life sentences for abuses which allegedly took place over the past two years.
The string of abuses were fodder for a defamation campaign against Muslims in the country because M.B. volunteered briefly for a prominent nongovernmental organization, known for offering scholarships and classes in Islamic theology, as well as accommodation for students for more than three decades. Both the foundation and the government which champions Islamic values were subject to a campaign laced with Islamophobia on social media. Ensar Foundation has pledged to take legal action against the suspect and bashed the defamation campaign.
Ensar Foundation has denied any link with the teacher besides his brief stint as volunteer in 2013, one year before the first instance of sexual abuse by M.B. took place according to prosecutors. The foundation's officials also said they would be actively involved in the lawsuit against the suspect and would "appeal for the heaviest sentence for the perpetrator if found guilty."
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