TURKISH NGOS PROPOSE CHANGES TO FREE SPEECH LAW

Agence France Presse — English
February 8, 2007 Thursday 11:16 AM GMT

Turkish civic bodies presented Thursday a proposal to amend a law
that has been used to prosecute dozens of intellectuals, among them
slain journalist Hrant Dink, and triggered EU criticism over Ankara’s
respect for free speech.

The government has said it is open to suggestions to amend the penal
code article, blamed by many for the murder of Dink, the ethnic
Armenian journalist who was gunned down in Istanbul last month in an
attack suspected to have been carried out by an ultra-nationalist.

"We believe our proposal will help overcome existing difficulties"
related to Article 301, Davut Okutcu, the head of the Economic
Development Foundation (IKV), said in a televised news conference.

"We now expect the government to evaluate our proposal," he said.

Article 301 provides for jail terms of between six months and
three years for "denigrating Turkishness," the Republic and state
institutions such as the government, parliament, the judiciary and
the security forces.

It calls for an increased penalty if the crime is committed abroad.

Dozens of intellectuals, among them the 2006 Nobel literature laureate
Orhan Pamuk, have been tried under the article, mostly for contesting
the official line on the massacres of Armenians under the Ottoman
Empire. Some countries have angered Turkey by branding this genocide.

No one has been imprisoned under the provision, but the appeals court
in July confirmed a suspended six-month sentence against Dink, making
him a hate figure among nationalists.

The European Union, which Turkey is seeking to join, has slammed the
article on many occasions as a threat to freedom of speech and urged
Ankara to either amend or scrap it.

Critics say the article’s wording is too vague and opens the way for
zealous judicial authorities to prosecute those exercising free speech.

Okutcu explained that under their proposal, the term "Turkishness"
would be clarified to mean only citizens of Turkey.

The proposal also lessens the possible jail term to a maximum of
two years, which would allow the sentence to be commuted to a fine,
Okutcu said.

It also introduces a new wording that would allow courts to look for
a deliberate intent in alleged crimes, Okutcu explained.

"The new wording will exclude statements made without intent. It will
denote a concrete and imminent danger" to public order, he added.