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  • Apologetic Turks Heading For Jail?

    APOLOGETIC TURKS HEADING FOR JAIL?

    Russia Today
    Jan 9 2009
    Russia

    A group of Turkish authors who initiated an online apology for the
    WWI killings of Armenians may get jail sentences for 'insulting the
    Turkish people'.

    A Turkish prosecutor has opened an investigation into a group of
    intellectuals that created a web-page apologising for the massacre
    of Armenians in Turkey that started in 1915. The state prosecutor of
    Ankara is checking whether the apology violates Article 301 of the
    Turkish penal code, which calls 'insulting Turkish people' a criminal
    deed and carries a jail sentence for those convicted.

    The group of suspects set up a web-page which included an apology
    for the 'catastrope' in the Ottoman Empire (present day Turkey) that
    took the lives of 1.5 million Armenians. Writers, academics, and other
    intellectuals posted a petition at www.ozurdiliyoruz.com (We Are Sorry)
    and offered a personal apology to Armenians, and also called on the
    Turkish government to acknowledge the fact of the massacre. The term
    'genocide' was not used though.

    The mass murder is recognised as genocide by Russia and 21 other
    countries, but in Turkey the topic is taboo. The authorities strongly
    oppose the use of the term 'genocide' and say the figures are greatly
    exaggerated, with only thousands murdered. Turkey and Armenia have
    no diplomatic ties to this day, though in 2008 they started talks
    on normalising relations. According to Turkish Foreign Minister Ali
    Babacan, the petition may be instrumental in undermining efforts to
    improve relations between the two countries.

    Article 301 of penal code was amended last year following pressure
    from the EU, an organisation that Turkey would like to join in
    the future. Now the Justice Minister has to approve any court
    case. Europe is also demanding that Turkey expands its political
    freedoms, freedom of speech and improves minority rights to meet EU
    standards for membership.

    Turkey has a record of prosecuting journalists, academics and authors
    for using the word 'genocide' when talking about the events that
    took place in 1915-1917. Among those who have faced such charges
    is Nobel Prize-winner writer Orhan Pamuk, when he stood accused of
    'insulting Turkey's national character'. On that occasion, however,
    the Justice Ministry threw out the prosecution's case following an
    international outcry.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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