DUTCH MFA CONCERNED OVER PROSECUTION OF TURKISH WRITER BECAUSE OF HIS STATEMENTS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
04.11.2008 17:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Mr. Maxim Verhagen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of
the Netherlands, has asked his Turkish colleague for clarification on
the decision of the Turkish Minister of Justice to give permission to
prosecute writer Temel Demirer, Federation of Armenian Organizations
in Netherlands (FAON) told PanARMENIAN.Net.

This is indicated in answers of Mr. Verhagen to written questions
submitted on 26 September 2008 by the Dutch Parliament. The questions
were presented by Members of four factions in Dutch Parliament,
namely the Christian Union, the CDA (Christian Democrats), the SGP
(Political Reformed Party) and the VVD (Liberal Party) after a report
by the Federation of Armenian Organizations in Netherlands (FAON)
that Mr. Demirer was being prosecuted because of his statements on
the Armenian Genocide.

Mr. Verhagen has also expressed his concern publicly during a speech
in the Bosphorus Conference on the lack of progress by Turkey in,
among others, sphere of the freedom of expression. He has pointed to
a clear relationship of this state of affairs with the application
of Article 301. Mr. Verhagen notifies in his response that Turkish
Minister of Justice has so far issued permission for prosecution in
44 out of 311 cases, which have been laid before him. The majority
of them are cases which were under adjudication before the amendment
of Article 301. The arguments that the Turkish government puts forth
for the issuance of permission to persecute these 44 cases are as
yet not known. Mr. Verhagen is due to be informed further about this.

In addition, Mr. Verhagen asserts in his answers that the application
of Article 301 shall stringently be dealt with in the appreciation
that Netherlands is going to give on the Progress Report due to
be published shortly by the European Commission in connection with
Turkey. Netherlands will also keep a strict watch so that the European
norms and conditions are compiled with if the chapters on "Judicial
power and the Fundamental Freedoms" (Chapter 23) and "Justice, Freedom
and Security" (Chapter 24) will come up for discussion in the framework
of EU accession negotiations. This applies to the political dialogue
as well.

The statements by Mr. Demirer were made during a commemorative service
after the murder of Hrant Dink in 2007, when he said that Dink had
to pay with his life for speaking the truth about the Armenian
Genocide. Dink was killed by a Turkish nationalist after he had
been condemned by court on the basis of Article 301 because of his
statements on the Armenian Genocide.