Turkish court denies 1000 european plaintiffs the lawsuit +++ German politicans Guido Westerwelle and Roland Koch helps the european citizens

on Friday, February 7th 2003 the Turkish "Big Senate" for administrative processes for the second time did not permit the negotiation of 1000 claims against the illegal nationalization of Demirbank, brought in by 1000 complainers from 14 European countries.

The reason therefor shall be a 60 day (!) period of limitation which starts to run with the publishing in the Turkish "Official Journal" and which also shall apply for foreigners who live in foreign countries! This is precarious and not comprehensible, because in other cases in turkey after years administrative complaints are still accepted.

This final refusal of our complaints against the official administration is a clear refusal of the legal protection of us plaintiffs. The Turkey expert and lawyer from Stuttgart, Germany, who represents the Community of Interests of German and International Demirbank shareholders (IGDD), will hand in therfore a case at the European human right Court of Justice in Strasbourg, France.

The case develops at present in the European Union- and federal politics highest explosiveness. Several important german politicians started important activities. Mr. Guido Westerwelle, head of the liberally Bundestag party FDP, started a written question to the german government. Roland Koch, Prime Minister of Hessen and one of most important german politicans, wrote a letter to the the German Minister of Foreign and ask him for any help he can give to solve the expropriation of 14.000 european shareholders. Prof.Dr. Hans-Gert Poettering, who is the head of all christian democratic parties in the European Parlament, asked the Turkish Ambassador at the European Union for an written report of the Demirbank case.

Also the EU Extension Commission takes the case very seriously. The EU Extension Commission urgently referred to the necessity for the protection of the owners and referred to necessary right-national proceeding in this case. Evenly that right-nationalness for the examination of the legal standard of the expropriation refuses Turkey now to the plaintiffs.

Already on December 9th 2002 a Petition to the European Union committee on petitions was submitted by the executive committees of the IGDD. Meanwhile already approximately 3,000 citizens with domicile in European Union countries followed the Petition with the European Union number 1577/2002. Their signatures will be presented to the European Union petitions committee soon by the IGDD. How international the protest against this scandal is, shows up in the fact that people of 25 different nationalities followed the Petition.
Press requests should be adresses to :

Dieter Kohler
Vice president IGDD
e-mail : dieter.kohler@igdd.de

http://www.igdd.de
http://www.igdd-press-scanner.de.vu
http://www.tuerkei-press-scanner.de.vu
http://www.eu-tuerkei-petition-info.de.vu