DUTCH PARLIAMENTARIANS SUBMITTED QUESTIONS TO MFA ON VIOLATIONS OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH IN TURKEY

PanARMENIAN.Net
21.06.2008 15:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Federation of Armenian Organizations of the
Netherlands (FAON) was informed that Members of four factions in Dutch
Parliament, namely the Christian Union, the SGP (Political Reformed
Party), the VVD (Liberal Party) and the CDA (Christian Democrats),
have submitted written questions to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
and to the Secretary of State (Minister) for European Affairs about the
five month sentence of Turkish publisher Ragip Zarakolu for publishing
a book about the Armenian Genocide, the FAON told PanARMENIAN.Net.

The questions are as follows:

1. Have you been noticed that a Turkish publisher has been sentenced
to five months in prison for publishing a book about the Armenian
Genocide of 1915?

2. What is your opinion on this conviction, which is based on the
controversial Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code?

3. The respective controversial Articles in the Turkish Penal Code
have been adapted quite recently under pressure of the EU to be
better able to guarantee the freedom of speech in Turkey, especially
in relation to the Armenian Genocide. Does this conviction mean that
these amendments have been just cosmetic? What can be concluded about
the scope and the meaning of Article 301 after this conviction?

4. What are the steps that the Minister intends to take bilaterally and
in the EU context to address the Turkish government on this sentence?

5. To what extent is this Turkish sentence in defiance of the Charter
of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and with the European
Convention on Human Rights?

6. What are the consequences of this conviction, according to the
Minister, for the EU accession negotiations with Turkey?