NTV MSNBC, Turkey
May 27 2005

New penal code changes approved

Turkey’s parliament on Friday approved a set of changes to the
country’s new penal code to meet European Union requirements.

Ankara
ASSOCIATED PRESS

May 27 – Journalists said the amendments don’t go far enough in
removing threats to freedoms of expression.

Turkey’s parliament voted 343-3 in favor of the changes to the penal
code, which is scheduled to go into effect on June 1. The new penal
code, the first major overhaul of the 79-year-old legislation,
improves the rights of women and children and brings higher human
rights standards. It
recognizes rape in marriage and sexual harassment as crimes, and
includes tougher measures against rape, pedophilia, human traffickers
and torture.

Journalists criticized the penal code for its vague language, saying
it could make it easier to crack down on journalists. Critics say the
amendments approved Friday make no significant improvements. One
amendment, making it a crime to humiliate state institutions, would
even bring harsher punishments.

Friday’s approval came after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s
ruling party which has roots in Turkey’s Islamic movement and the
opposition clashed over an amendment that reduces punishments for
people running illegal religion courses from jail terms to a fine.
The main opposition party, the center-left Republican Peoples’ Party,
did not take part in Friday’s vote to protest that amendment and its
leader, Deniz Baykal, accused Erdogan of trying to undermine Turkey’s
secular system.

One new article calls for prison sentences for those who disregard
the state’s «fundamental national interests.» A reasoning attached to
the draft of that article specified that those interest could include
calling for the withdrawal of Turkish soldiers from Cyprus or saying
that Armenians were subjected to genocide during World War I. The
offense could be punishable by three to 10 years in prison.

The legislation needs to be approved by President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.