REVISIONS TO ARTICLE 301 SENT TO PARLIAMENT’S JUSTICE COMMISSION

Turkish Press
Hurriyet
April 15 2008
MI

After returning to Ankara after a visit to China, Parliament Speaker
Koksal Toptan yesterday sent to a Parliament commission a government
proposal to amend Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), seen
as a key obstacle to Turkey’s European Union membership talks.

Justice Commission members are expected to hold initial hearings on
the proposal on Friday amid debate over who should be responsible for
starting the legal process to file charges for denigrating Turkish
identity or insulting the country’s institutions. Although the current
proposal would give this responsibility to the president, Toptan told
reporters that leaving the decision to the justice minister would be
better. In related news, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on a
visit to Qatar, said that after much discussion he and his colleagues
had decided to give the president the authority, as he is above both
politics and political parties. "As the justice minister is involved
in politics, a decision from the president would be more trustworthy,"
said the premier.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress