TURKEY MUST IMPROVE MINORITY RIGHTS, ENHANCE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, RELIGION AND PRESS

AP
11/06/2007 09:35

The European Commission expressed its concern over lack of minority
rights, and press and religion freedom in Turkey .

"It is not acceptable that writers, journalists, academics and other
intellectuals … are prosecuted for simply expressing a critical but
completely nonviolent opinion," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn
said ()

In its annual report on Turkey, the EU executive repeated that Ankara
must normalize its relations with EU member Cyprus and honor a 2005
pact to open its ports and airports to the island republic.

The pace of reforms "has slowed down" since Turkey’s membership
negotiations opened two years ago, and "significant further efforts
are needed" in crucial areas, said the report. Human rights issues, a
dispute over Cyprus and other problems hinder the bid, the report said.

The assessment earned strong reaction from Ankara, which urged EU
countries not to impede Turkey’s membership bid with what it called
"obstacles that are not related" to the process.

The EU is particularly concerned about Article 301 of the Turkish
penal code, which makes it a crime to insult Turkish identity or the
country’s institutions. The article has been used to prosecute people
for making comments about the mass killings of Armenians by Turks in
the early 20th century.

"It is not acceptable that writers, journalists, academics and other
intellectuals … are prosecuted for simply expressing a critical but
completely nonviolent opinion," EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn
said when presenting the report.

"The infamous Article 301 must be repealed or amended without delay,"
he said.

Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk and slain ethnic Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink were both prosecuted under the law. That period
of history has also strained Turkey’s relations with the United States
since a U.S. House of Representatives panel approved a resolution
labeling the killings as genocide.

The report commends the Turkish government for solving a constitutional
crisis earlier this year, but says the military – which has vowed to
safeguard Turkish secularism – still exerts "significant political
influence." It calls for better civilian oversight of the armed forces.

Abdullah Gul, a former foreign minister in Turkey’s Islamic-oriented
government, was elected president in July after months of confrontation
with the secular establishment, with the military threatening to
intervene when Gul was first nominated for the post.