Free expression and EU membership on trial in Turkey
12-18-2005
Anniston Star
By Bob Davis
Editorial Page Editor
ISTANBUL, Turkey — In October, Turkey’s National Security Adviser Yigit Alpogan spoke to a group of journalists about the prospects of his country joining the European Union. [...].
Alpogan’s text, delivered in fluent English, sounded familiar. His remarks on terrorism, for example, were as Western in their framing as anything coming from Britain or the United States. [...].
However, once he strayed from his prepared remarks for a Q&A session, the trouble began.
One questioner touched on three Turkish taboos, asking about the Armenian genocide, the dispute over Cypress and the Kurdish movement. Gone were nods to modernity. Out went niceties about joining the global fight against terrorists. In their place came dogma. What most of the world calls the 1915 genocide of Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks is a matter of dispute, Alpogan said. According to him, the controversy is completely distorted by natives of Armenia living in the West.[...].
[...]
Pamuk’s trial, which was suspended by a Turkish judge on Friday, is almost beyond Western comprehension. A writer faces jail time for speaking his mind? In the United States, this is all too abstract for a nation where blowhards from the left and right pontificate 24 hours a day.
[...]
For Turkey, membership in the European Union could mean a series of steps. Human rights would be one. Keeping mosque and state separate would be another. As would prosecutors and courts fully embracing the beauty of free expression, that which hangs in the balance in the case of Pamuk and at least 30 other writers and publishers. Pamuk jokes that so many Turkish writers have been jailed or otherwise harassed that such treatment is considered a status symbol.
Establishing these hallmarks of vibrant democracy in a nation bordering Syria, Iraq and Iran is in the interest of more than the Europeans.
That prospect looks less bright after a Turkish judge refused to drop Pamuk’s charges last week.
[...]
Ah, the freedom for a writer expressing his sincere beliefs. It’s a good thing, even for Turks.
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.
Anniston Star
By Bob Davis
Editorial Page Editor
ISTANBUL, Turkey — In October, Turkey’s National Security Adviser Yigit Alpogan spoke to a group of journalists about the prospects of his country joining the European Union. [...].
Alpogan’s text, delivered in fluent English, sounded familiar. His remarks on terrorism, for example, were as Western in their framing as anything coming from Britain or the United States. [...].
However, once he strayed from his prepared remarks for a Q&A session, the trouble began.
One questioner touched on three Turkish taboos, asking about the Armenian genocide, the dispute over Cypress and the Kurdish movement. Gone were nods to modernity. Out went niceties about joining the global fight against terrorists. In their place came dogma. What most of the world calls the 1915 genocide of Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks is a matter of dispute, Alpogan said. According to him, the controversy is completely distorted by natives of Armenia living in the West.[...].
[...]
Pamuk’s trial, which was suspended by a Turkish judge on Friday, is almost beyond Western comprehension. A writer faces jail time for speaking his mind? In the United States, this is all too abstract for a nation where blowhards from the left and right pontificate 24 hours a day.
[...]
For Turkey, membership in the European Union could mean a series of steps. Human rights would be one. Keeping mosque and state separate would be another. As would prosecutors and courts fully embracing the beauty of free expression, that which hangs in the balance in the case of Pamuk and at least 30 other writers and publishers. Pamuk jokes that so many Turkish writers have been jailed or otherwise harassed that such treatment is considered a status symbol.
Establishing these hallmarks of vibrant democracy in a nation bordering Syria, Iraq and Iran is in the interest of more than the Europeans.
That prospect looks less bright after a Turkish judge refused to drop Pamuk’s charges last week.
[...]
Ah, the freedom for a writer expressing his sincere beliefs. It’s a good thing, even for Turks.
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 6:10 AM
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