Human Rights Must Remain Inalienable - Never Transferred or Dealt Away

Two Turkish journalists -  detained for showing footage reportedly of the country's intelligence agency helping send weapons to Syria, have sent a letter from prison to the European Union(EU), urging Europe not to compromise over human rights with Turkey. And in the letter from the Silivri prison, near Istanbul, the journalists have in essence reminded the World that human rights are inalienable and should never be negotiated or dealt away as a short run answer to any difficulty or crisis.

A Turkish court, in the land of increasing authoritarianism under the Tayyip Erdogan presidency, ordered on Thursday that Can Dunbar, editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet newspaper, and senior editor, Erdem Gul, be taken into custody. Full freedom of the Press and Social Media has been declining in Turkey. Journalists and Bloggers are easily arrested on matters that appear anti-government. 

As reported, written and edited by Gulsen Solaker, Dasha Afanasieva and Dominic Evens for Reuters earlier today: "European diplomats have been measured in their criticism of media freedom in Turkey and President Tayyip Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian rule, recognizing the West needs Ankara's help on the migrant crisis and as an ally in the U.S.- led coalition against the Islamic State."

EU leaders are seeking to sign a deal with Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu tomorrow(Sunday),  with a view to easing Europe's migrant crisis. However, the detained journalists have asked the EU not to turn a blind eye upon human rights issues in Turkey. The journalists hoped that the EU's "...desire to end the crisis will not stand in the way of your sensitivity towards human rights, freedom of press and expression as fundamental values of the Western World," Reuters reported.

The EU and all others must retain the fact that human rights are inalienable never to transferred, negotiated or dealt away. Too often in recent international deals and negotiations, including a British Trade group trip to China, human rights have taken a back seat to other matters. On a number of occasions, the topic of human rights has been dropped from discussions all together so as not to upset the human rights offender. 

But the matters of the rights of humanity, if stifled, would always re-emerge to offend those seeking to avoid the issues. Therefore, human rights should lead and spearhead any and all international negotiations.