Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Dec 27 2007
Gov’t to put final touches on Article 301 amendment tomorrow
Final touches on an amendment to a controversial law that has been
widely considered a stumbling block for freedom of expression in
Turkey will be finished tomorrow, a senior government official said
Wednesday.
Justice Minister Mehmet Ali ªahin, who on Tuesday said that within
two weeks the Turkish government would assess the draft amendment to
Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which makes it a crime
to "insult Turkishness," told reporters yesterday that the amendment
could be adopted as a bill by Parliament in January.
Turkey has been under heavy pressure from the EU to amend or scrap
Article 301, which has been used to prosecute Turkish writers and
intellectuals, especially for comments on the killings of Anatolian
Armenians in 1915 under the Ottoman Empire. Last month, the EU’s
executive commission criticized Turkey for not carrying out any
substantial reforms in the past two years and urged the government,
which was given a strong mandate when it was re-elected to power in
July, to reinvigorate the stalled reform process.
The studies for amendment to the article has been going on for almost
last two years, ªahin emphasized, speaking to reporters at Parliament
ahead of a meeting of the parliamentary Justice Commission. "I
believe that we can set the final touches on the amendment on Friday.
… I believe that we can then send the amendment to the prime
minister’s office. It will, of course, be discussed in the Cabinet.
When an amendment is sent to the Prime Ministry, it is necessary to
ask opinions of related organizations, and this takes a certain
amount of time. It may also be introduced to the Parliament as a
bill. We haven’t yet decided on this. However, I believe the change
to Article 301 of the TCK may be adopted by Parliament in January,"
ªahin added.
As of Tuesday ªahin had said that the most important element in the
draft amendment was that it requires prosecutors to secure permission
from the Justice Ministry to launch court trials against the
expression of opinion. This change is expected to lead to a decrease
in the number of cases opened under Article 301. The term
"Turkishness" in the article is expected to be changed to "the
Turkish Republic," while the expression "insulting Turkishness" is
anticipated to be replaced by "insulting the Turkish nation."
The government has so far refused to heed EU demands to amend the
article without delay, saying the issue would be taken up as part of
its broader drive to reform the current Constitution, which was
drafted under military rule in 1982.
Releasing its annual progress report in November, the European
Commission called on Ankara to make "significant further efforts"
toward improving freedom of expression and religion, stressing that
more people were prosecuted under Article 301 last year than in 2005.
It specifically urged steps to repeal or amend Article 301, saying
talks will not be opened on at least one of 35 negotiation chapters
for Turkey’s accession to the EU if the law is not amended or
repealed.
27.12.2007
Today’s Zaman Ankara