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  • ANKARA: EU Welcomes 301 Amendment But Calls For More

    EU WELCOMES 301 AMENDMENT BUT CALLS FOR MORE

    Today's Zaman, Turkey
    May 1 2008

    The European Commission has welcomed the Turkish Parliament's amendment
    of a disputed law used to prosecute writers for insulting Turkishness,
    but said it seeks more changes to ensure that such prosecutions come
    to an end.

    In the early morning hours on Wednesday Parliament approved the
    long-awaited amendment to a penal code article criticized by
    rights groups, activists and the European Union for limiting free
    speech. However, intellectuals, journalists and writers say the
    amendment is not sufficient.

    "This amendment is, of course, a welcome step forward and the
    commission now looks forward to further moves that change similar
    articles in the penal code, because this article was not the only one
    addressed ... in order to ensure in fact that unwarranted prosecutions
    stop," European Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio said
    on Wednesday.

    "Now the Turkish authorities need to focus on implementation of
    the reform to guarantee full freedom of expression for all Turkish
    citizens," he told a news conference. The EU has said easing
    restrictions on free speech is a test of Turkey's commitment to
    political reform as Ankara looks to advance slow-moving membership
    talks which began in 2005.

    While Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has welcomed the amendment of
    301, labeling it "a step forward," Joost Lagendjik, the co-chairman
    of the Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission, said, "It was
    an acceptable compromise." Cautious in his positive reaction to
    the amendment, Rehn drew attention to other articles in the penal
    code curbing freedom of expression that should be changed. "This
    amendment is a welcome step forward, and the commission looks forward
    to further moves to change similar articles in order to ensure that
    ungrounded prosecutions stop," Rehn said, signaling that he would
    like to see the implementation before a full assessment. "Now the
    Turkish authorities should focus on implementation of the reform
    to guarantee full freedom of expression for Turkish citizens," the
    enlargement commissioner added.

    A strong critic of 301 since 2004, Lagendijk said the amendment was
    an acceptable compromise in the face of fierce polarization within
    the Turkish community. Expressing his hope that 301 would not be used
    again, as the new version requires the permission of the minister of
    justice, Lagendijk said, "The new version has now come, to a great
    extent, to be parallel with other penal codes of EU members. There
    are similar laws in the Polish and Italian penal codes." However,
    Lagendijk made it clear that he was for the abolition of the article
    once and for all. "This will not win the beauty contest of the legal
    reforms. But I think the immediate effect will be that there won't
    be any more cases opened on the basis of 301," he added. Similar to
    the words of the enlargement commissioner, he voiced his concern over
    the other articles that could be used with the same purpose.

    In its 2007 progress report on Turkey, the European Commission had also
    cited certain other articles of the penal code that need to be amended.

    Changes the amendment introduces

    The change to Article 301 of the penal code was approved with 250
    votes for and 65 against amid fierce criticism from the nationalist
    opposition. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party),
    which dominates the 550-seat Parliament with 340 lawmakers, was the
    only party that voted in favor of the amendment, while opposition
    parties voted against it. The amendment has to be approved by the
    president before it can go into effect.

    The article has been used to prosecute hundreds of writers, including
    Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk, for insulting Turkishness.

    After the reform goes into effect, it will be a crime to insult the
    Turkish nation, rather than Turkishness, and the justice minister's
    permission will be required to open a case under 301. The maximum
    sentence will be cut to two years from three.

    Although no one has ever been sent to jail on a 301-related charge,
    the publicity of such cases has done great damage to individuals who
    were suspects in these trials. Some, such as Armenian-Turkish editor
    Hrant Dink, have paid dearly. Dink, who was tried for insulting Turkish
    identity in 2006, was shot dead by a militant nationalist in January
    of last year.

    Defending the reform against criticism from the opposition, Justice
    Minister Mehmet Ali Å~^ahit said there would still be restrictions
    on insulting Turkey. This change will not allow people to insult
    Turkishness freely, he told Parliament.

    Critics say Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose AK Party is
    facing possible closure for allegedly violating secular principles,
    is now keen to be seen as advancing Turkey's EU bid.

    Opponents of Article 301, meanwhile, say the government-proposed
    changes are only cosmetic and will have little impact on Turkey's
    EU bid. They also state that there are other freedom-curbing laws in
    Turkey's penal code that need to be changed.

    Parliamentary opposition to 301 reform

    The bill, passed after eight hours of mostly late-night debate,
    had been delayed several times amid stiff opposition from nationalists.

    Turkey's far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) accused the
    government of betraying the country's identity and instead pandering
    to EU demands that it reform laws prohibiting Turks from insulting
    their nation.

    MHP leader Devlet Bahceli told a meeting of his party ahead of the
    vote the reform would be a historical mistake. Slandering Turkey's
    honorable history, insulting the Turkish nation and the values of
    Turkishness has become a habit in the AK Party's political thinking,
    which lacks a sense of identity, he said.

    MHP Secretary General Faruk Bal, in a meeting of the MHP's
    parliamentary group on Monday, said the problem with 301 was its
    image outside Turkey. He said 301 was introduced in the West as an
    article that incited the murders of journalists, referring to the
    death of Dink, who had been tried under Article 301. "Article 301 has
    been accepted as the only obstacle to EU admission, which is a lie,"
    Bal said.

    The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) also opposed the
    reform. The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), whose members
    often end up in court for expressing views on the Kurdish issue,
    wanted to abolish the article.

    Article 301 has notably been used against writers such as Pamuk
    for comments on the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in
    1915-16. Turkey denies Armenian claims that the killings constituted
    genocide.

    --Boundary_(ID_InsJ1cxBfxcY v6VKOYbWFQ)--
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