Turkey’s parliamentary speaker favours changing article 301

NTV MSNBC, Turkey
Jan 24 2007

Arinc said that if a bill was tabled to abolish or revise the notorious
article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, the parliament would quickly
discuss it.

Guncelleme: 09:17 TSİ 24 Ocak 2007 CarşambaANKARA – The
Turkish parliament could consider amending an article of the country’s
penal code that deals with the crime of insulting Turkish identity,
the speaker of the Grand National Assembly said Monday.

Speaking after paying a condolence visits to the family of murdered
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink and the Armenian Patriarch
Mesrob Mutafyan, Bulent Arinc said that he was personally in favour
of lifting or revising article 301.

However, Arinc said it was not up to him but to the parliament to do
so, adding that no result had been achieved from talks between the
government and NGO on the issue.

There have been a number of court cases opened against Turkish writers
and journalists, including Turkish Noble Prize winner novelist Orhan
Pamuk, under article 301. One of the few found guilty of the charge
was Dink, who was given a six month suspended sentence in late 2005.