JOSEPH CROWLEY CALLS ON ANKARA TO REPEAL ARTICLE 301

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.01.2008 18:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY) urged Congress to honor
the memory of slain journalist and human rights activist, Hrant Dink,
by supporting the immediate repeal of Article 301 of the Turkish
penal code.

The much-criticized law used to curb freedom of speech and criminalize
public discussion on the Armenian Genocide is widely believed to have
led to Dink’s assassination in broad daylight on an Istanbul street
on January 19, 2007.

"Many informed observers believe Hrant Dink’s prosecution under
Article 301 opened him up to a campaign of harassment and death
threats from ultranationalists, which eventually led to his murder,"
said Crowley. "To this day, citizens of Turkey live under threat of
this gag law, with Hrant Dink’s own son prosecuted under this law
because he reprinted his father’s newspaper article."

"This is not the action of a true democracy," he continued. "It is
reflective of how a totalitarian state would behave, and this is
not the Turkey we, the United States of America, have aligned our
country with."

"With no demonstrable steps taken to abolish Article 301 a year
after Hrant Dink’s murder, it is clear that Armenians and other
minorities are still at risk in Turkey," said Bryan Ardouny, Executive
Director of the Armenian Assembly of America. "We therefore commend
Congressman Crowley for spearheading this legislation and urge its
timely adoption. Passage of H. Res. 102 will pay lasting tribute to
Dink’s legacy of tolerance and send a clear message that the United
States does not stand for repression of free speech."