ERDOGAN WON’T CHANGE KEY LAW DESPITE EU PRESSURE
Written by The Media Line Staff

The Media Line, NY
Oct 31 2006

Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not caved in to the
European Union’s pressure to cancel article 301 of the penal code,
Reuters reports.

Article 301 makes it a crime to insult Turkishness. This article
was used against scholars, journalists and writers, including Nobel
literature prize winner Orhan Pamuk. Pamuk opposed the Turkish official
line that no preplanned massacre of Armenians took place in 1915.

Erdogan said his government had no plans to change the law.

Nevertheless, Erdogan encouraged the EU to come up with suggestions
for amending article 301, and said Turkey "will consider" them.

A poll conducted at the end of September revealed a massive decline in
the Turkish people’s wish to join the EU. The survey, published by the
Turkish daily Milliyet, showed that only 32.2 percent thought Turkey
"must certainly enter the EU." In 2004 the figure stood at 67.5%
and last year it declined to 57.4%.