ARTICLE 301 THREATENS INITIATORS OF ARMENIAN APOLOGY CAMPAIGN

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.01.2009 15:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The notorious article 301 of the Turkish Penal
Code is in play again. This time it is threatening the initiators
and signatories of the online apology for the Armenian Genocide.

The petition set on Internet in December 15 says, "My conscience does
not accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial of the Great
Calamity that befell the Ottoman Armenians in 1915. I reject this
injustice and for my share, I empathize with the feelings and pain
of my Armenian brothers. I apologize to them."

Ankara Public Prosecutor Nadi Turkaslan said the Prosecutor’s Office
is considering a possibility to start legal proceedings against those
who joined the campaign, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Professor of Criminal Law at Istanbul University, Ersan Sen, said
the campaign can be rated to violation of article 301 if it meant to
insult the Turkish identity.

"A prosecutor may well seek out permission to investigate from the
justice minister," Sen said.

In its renewed form, any article 301 case requires permission from
the Justice Minister, currently Mehmet Ali Sahin, for prosecutors to
begin an investigation.

"As much as I disagree with the ‘I apologize’ statement, I must say
that it is very difficult to describe its content as conflicting with
article 301," said Umit Kocasakal, an associate professor of law at
Galatasaray University. "The European Court of Human Rights ruled
that even shocking and disturbing ideas may be expressed within the
framework of freedom of expression," Kocasakal said.

"Although there is no mention of the term ‘genocide,’ it is clear
that a state, or the Turkish nation, is being accused," he added.

Commenting on the apology campaign, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan said Turkey has never committed anything it must apologize for.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress