TURKISH COURT ORDERS CANCELLATION OF ACADEMIC CONFERENCE ON ARMENIAN MASSACRE
By Benjamin Harvey

The Associated Press
09/22/05 13:45 EDT

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) – An Istanbul court on Thursday ordered the
cancellation of an academic conference on the massacre of Armenians
during the Ottoman Empire, casting greater doubt on whether Turkey
is prepared to accept open discussion of controversial subjects.

The conference was originally scheduled for May but was postponed
after Justice Minister Cemil Cicek severely criticized it, saying it
went against government efforts to counter an Armenian campaign to
have the killings recognized as genocide.

The case to close the conference was brought by the Turkish Lawyers
Union and other lawyers.

The conference was scheduled to deal with one of the most sensitive
issues in Turkish politics – the killings of Armenians during
the collapse of the Ottoman Empire around the time of World War I,
which an increasing number of governments have officially recognized
as genocide.

Turkey says the killings took place during civil unrest and backing
the genocide claim in Turkey can be a cause for prosecution.

There was no immediate word from court officials on why the conference
was canceled.

The Anatolia news agency reported that the court said the hosts could
appeal, but demanded a number of documents including the academic
backgrounds of the participants, proof that invitees were of varying
viewpoints and documents listing the financial backers of the speakers.

Turkey came under international scrutiny after the original conference
was postponed, with some critics saying it showed Turkey would not
allow freedom of expression on sensitive subjects.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan immediately condemned the court’s
decision Thursday. Courts are independent in Turkey, however, and
the prime minister has little power to overturn their decisions.

Last month, Turkey opened a case against one of the country’s most
acclaimed contemporary writers, novelist Orhan Pamuk. Pamuk, who is
often mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in literature,
is scheduled to go before a Turkish court in December for the crime
of insulting the Turkish national identity. His offending comment was
made to a Swiss newspaper in regard to Turkey’s killings of Armenians
and Kurds.

European Union officials have said they will be watching the Pamuk
trial very closely, and some have suggested that Turkey’s refusal
to permit free expression could be a cause for halting EU membership
negotiations, which are to begin Oct. 3.