EU warnings ahead of Pamuk trial
15 Dec 2005
Europolitics.com
By Daisy Ayliffe
The trial of novelist Orhan Pamuk will be a litmus test for free speech in Turkey, European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has warned the EU hopeful.
[...]
“This is a litmus test whether Turkey is seriously committed to the freedom of expression and reforms that enhance the rule of law and benefit all Turkish citizens.”
Pamuk caused uproar in Turkey earlier this year by saying a million Armenians were killed in WW1 massacres and 30,000 Kurds in recent decades.
The author will be charged with insulting ‘Turkishness’ under Article 301 of Turkey’s recently revised penal code, which lies at the heart of international concerns.
Prosecutions such as Pamuk’s rarely end in imprisonment and more often result in fines or acquittals.
The case will nonetheless be closely scrutinised by officials in Brussels who question whether Turkey is serious about eventual EU entry.
Troubled past
The “Armenia question” has become a thorn in Turkey’s side - with Ankara rejecting claims that Ottoman forces committed genocide against Armenians.
Under EU pressure, Turkey has called for historians to debate the rights and wrongs of the issue.
But at a conference arranged to do precisely that in September, five newspaper columnists were charged with “insulting state judicial organs”.
The journalists said a court bid to prevent the conference taking place was an attack on academic freedom and they now face between six months and ten years in jail if found guilty.
Protecting the state
The EU fears that these cases, and those like them, highlight a worrying Turkish fixation with protecting the interests of the state above individual freedoms.
[...]
The EU’s enlargement chief urged Ankara to tighten its penal code and prove it was serious about its EU ambitions.
“The commission expects that the Turkish government will make it clear to the country's prosecutors and judges that Article 301 of the new penal code should be interpreted fully in line with the European Convention of Human Rights.”
“The trial of a novelist who expressed a non-violent opinion casts a shadow over the accession negotiations between Turkey and the EU,” Rehn added.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Europolitics.com
By Daisy Ayliffe
The trial of novelist Orhan Pamuk will be a litmus test for free speech in Turkey, European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has warned the EU hopeful.
[...]
“This is a litmus test whether Turkey is seriously committed to the freedom of expression and reforms that enhance the rule of law and benefit all Turkish citizens.”
Pamuk caused uproar in Turkey earlier this year by saying a million Armenians were killed in WW1 massacres and 30,000 Kurds in recent decades.
The author will be charged with insulting ‘Turkishness’ under Article 301 of Turkey’s recently revised penal code, which lies at the heart of international concerns.
Prosecutions such as Pamuk’s rarely end in imprisonment and more often result in fines or acquittals.
The case will nonetheless be closely scrutinised by officials in Brussels who question whether Turkey is serious about eventual EU entry.
Troubled past
The “Armenia question” has become a thorn in Turkey’s side - with Ankara rejecting claims that Ottoman forces committed genocide against Armenians.
Under EU pressure, Turkey has called for historians to debate the rights and wrongs of the issue.
But at a conference arranged to do precisely that in September, five newspaper columnists were charged with “insulting state judicial organs”.
The journalists said a court bid to prevent the conference taking place was an attack on academic freedom and they now face between six months and ten years in jail if found guilty.
Protecting the state
The EU fears that these cases, and those like them, highlight a worrying Turkish fixation with protecting the interests of the state above individual freedoms.
[...]
The EU’s enlargement chief urged Ankara to tighten its penal code and prove it was serious about its EU ambitions.
“The commission expects that the Turkish government will make it clear to the country's prosecutors and judges that Article 301 of the new penal code should be interpreted fully in line with the European Convention of Human Rights.”
“The trial of a novelist who expressed a non-violent opinion casts a shadow over the accession negotiations between Turkey and the EU,” Rehn added.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 8:57 AM
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