Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 14 2008
Prosecutors to seek permission from president for 301 cases
The infamous Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which has
even caused troubles within the government, recently underwent
another retouch of its proposed amendment text that would require
prosecutors to seek presidential permission to take any action under
this article.
The government says that the change to the amendment text will bring
more protection for the principle of impartiality.
In the draft revision text, set to be discussed at Parliament after
the process to implement recent constitutional amendments to lift a
headscarf ban at Turkish university campuses is completed, the phrase
`Turkishness’ is replaced with `Turkish nation.’
Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek had argued that empowering justice
ministers to give permission for trials under this article would make
them targets of criticism and that therefore a commission should be
charged with the task instead. The ruling Justice and Development
Party (AK Party) had postponed parliamentary deliberation on the
article to allow time to ponder Çiçek’s reservations. However,
Çiçek’s proposal for a commission went unheeded.
The new text has been submitted to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdoðan, who will examine it at the meeting of his party’s Central
Executive Board (MYK) and make a final assessment. It will then be
introduced to Parliament.
The text adopted by the Justice Ministry was initially proposed by
Sami Selçuk, former chairman of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and
reads as follows:
`Public denigration of the Turkish nation, the State of the Republic
of Turkey, the legislative, executive and judicial organs, military,
security and forces concerned with security in a manner to undermine
public credibility and respectability (and outside the objective
criticism criteria) shall be punishable by imprisonment of six months
to two years. Expressions of thought intended to criticize shall not
constitute a crime. The prosecution of above-mentioned crimes shall
be subject to permission of the president, who will decide in
consideration of the public good.’
Many of Turkey’s artists and writers, including slain
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, novelist Elif Þafak and Nobel
Literature laureate Orhan Pamuk, have been tried under 301 for
allegedly insulting Turkishness. Since it went into effect on June 1,
2005 as part of a package needed to start full membership talks with
the EU, charges have been brought against writers, intellectuals and
journalists in more than 60 cases.
14.02.2008
ERCAN YAVUZ ANKARA