The New Anatolian, Turkey
Dec 27 2007
Sahin: Change of 301 soon in parliament
The New Anatolian / Ankara
27 December 2007
Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said on Wednesday that an amendment
on Article 301 of Turkish Penal Code (TCK) will soon be submitted to
the parliament as a proposal.
Sahin told reporters, "work on the article has been in progress for
almost two years which is on the agenda of both EU and Turkey.
Studies are nearly completed. I think we will give a final shape to
the draft in our meeting on Friday, then we will send it to Prime
Minister’s office. It will also be debated at the Council of
Ministers."
"When a draft law is prepared, it is necessary to ask the opinions of
several institutions. This takes time. It (draft law) can also be
presented to parliament as a proposal. We have not decided yet. I
hope the Parliament will amend the article 301 within January 2008,"
he noted.
Article 301 which was used to prosecute a Nobel laureate for
insulting Turkish identity has become a serious handicap for the
government.
Turkey, which hopes to join the European Union, has been proded to
soften the law, which makes denigrating Turkish identity, or
insulting the country’s institutions, a crime punishable by up to
three years in prison. The EU has said it does not fit within the
bloc’s standards of free speech, and has been one of the stumbling
blocks to Turkish accession since talks began in 2005.
The Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk was among the highest
profile Turks hit by the law, when he commented on the mass killings
of Armenians by Turks in the early 20th century. Turkey contends the
death toll has been inflated and the deaths were the result of civil
unrest, not genocide.
In addition to Pamuk, numerous other writers, journalists and
academics have also been prosecuted under the law.
Hrant Dink, the ethnic Armenian journalist who was the editor of the
minority Agos newspaper, was shot outside his Istanbul office on Jan.
19, following his prosecution for comments he made about the killings
of Armenians. His murder revived a debate about the law, and many
said his prosecution made him a target for radical nationalists. Tens
of thousands turned out for his funeral, but many other Turks viewed
him as an irritant whose commentaries were objectionable.
Turkish leaders have said the law was damaging Turkey’s image by
portraying it as a country where intellectuals are jailed for
speaking their opinions.
Observers say given the sensitivity of the debate over the law, it is
unlikely it will be dropped entirely, but the decision to amend it
indicates it will be softened to restrict its interpretation by
prosecutors.