Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Jan 31 2007
301’s hidden victims: Translators
The reach of Article 301, which has been brought into the limelight
with Hrant Dink’s murder, is much wider than many would think; it
affects not only those writers who hold the pen and contemplate
`illegal opinions’ but translators as well. While names like Orhan
Pamuk and Elif Safak have suffered publicly due to this article,
translators suffer in silence.
Sertaç Canbolat is one of tens of translators who has been penalized
for `insulting Turkishness, the Turkish Republic and government
agencies’ through his translation of the book `Ma Vie Amoureuse et
Criminelle avec Martin Heidegger’ (My Life of Love and Crime with
Martin Heidegger). Canbolat was sued on grounds of the book being
`against moral values’ and `encouraging’ people to commit crime.
Canbolat says, `I would have ended up in jail unless my publishing
company hadn’t posted my bail,’ adding that, `In the end, I was
penalized twice the fee that I had made for translating the book.’
There are those who have actually been found guilty and sent to
prison as a result for their translations. Seçkin Selvi, who
translated the book `Lenin’s Death’ about Russian dictator Joseph
Stalin into Turkish served a one-year jail sentence from 1973-1974.
She was able to take advantage of the `general pardon’ periodically
granted to inmates and barely escaped an exile sentence that would
have been delivered pending completion of her regular jail term.
Selvi adds that she has been charged for every theory-based book she
has translated, however, has only been sentenced to prison once.
Atilla Tugay has had to face a judge numerous times due to books he
translated, and Article 301 has become his new nightmare. He was sued
last year due to his translation of the book `Bir Ermeni Doktorun
Yaşadıkları: Garabet Haçeryan’ın İzmir
Gündesi’ (An Armenian Doctor’s Story: Garabet Haçeryan’s Diary). The
book suggests a different perspective of certain calamities during
Turkey’s national struggle.
Tuncay Birkan, chairman of the Turkish Translators Union
(ÇEVBİR), says that prior to 1980, many translators were
sentenced to jail; however, the numbers have dropped considerably.
31.01.2007
Mehmet Rıfat Yeğen