Zaman Online, Turkey
May 20 2005

Cicek Speaks on Penal Code Changes
By Murat Aydin
Published: Friday 20, 2005
zaman.com

Minister of Justice Cemil Cicek has spoken about the changes to the
Turkish Penal Code, which was been delayed due to demands of NGOs,
the media and public organizations.

Cicek claimed that the disputed parts had been changed, adding that
the changes would be evaluated at the Parliamentary General Council
and come into force on June 1. Cicek emphasized that the changes
to be made concern the European Union (EU). The government did not
include any punishment that does not exist in European countries
and concerns about the fact that “the new laws are open to comments”
do not stem from the laws themselves, the Minister added, but from
the human factor.

He answered claims that some issues of the law may be misused in
periods like February 28 saying: “Laws lose their meaning during
extraordinary situations,” and added that the media-related issues
had been changed thoroughly. The Minister of Justice said some people
or groups want special laws for themselves, and that that brings
real problems. Cicek stressed there will not be any privileges in a
society where rules operate.

Meanwhile Cicek noted that some people were unfair to Turkey by showing
Europe as “Kingdom of Freedom”. He mentioned the Belgian Parliament
by referring to recent developments regarding the so-called Armenian
genocide allegations in Europe.

Cicek replied to criticisms about regulations preventing terrorist
organization leaders like Abdullah Ocalan from communicating commands
to militants through their advocates, saying: “There regulations
do not restrict one’s right to defend oneself. If some people are
helping the terrorist organization by misusing this right for his
defense by carrying information from the leader to the militants and
from militants to the leader, we cannot let this to happen.”