|
Istanbul, 15 Dec. (AKI) - The trial of acclaimed
Turkish novelist, Orhan Pamuk, on charges of
"insulting Turkishness" which begins on Friday will
be viewed by many, including European Union
observers and human rights activists, as a test of
the depth of Turkey's committment to freedom of
expression. Pamuk was indicted for telling the Swiss
magazine Tages Anzeiger in February, that "thirty
thousand Kurds and one million Armenians were killed
in these lands, and nobody but me dares to talk
about it".
The remark referred to the alleged mass killings
carried out by the Turkish Ottoman Empire during the
1915-20 period. If convicted Pamuk could face up to
four years in prison.
Nationalist groups in Turkey have branded Pamuk a
"traitor" and some have also incited people to
physically attack him after his comments were
published in Turkish newspapers.
The government on the other hand appears split on
the issue.
"I’m sure Pamuk will not go to jail," Foreign
Minister Abdullah Gul told London's Financial Times
in an interview. He added however that "it will take
time for the Turkish judiciary to fully apply the
reforms” that Turkey introduced in a bid to bring
its penal code more in line with that of the
countries of the EU which it hopes to join.
But Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has criticised the
campaign to defend Pamuk for creating pressure on
the Turkish judiciary. “I find that a little
controversial to the principle of respecting the
rule of law”, he said in an interview to the
Australian daily The Sydney Morning Herald during
his visit last week to Australia.
Erdogan also compared the international reaction
over Pamuk’s case to his own experience when he was
the mayor of Istanbul. He said he was jailed for 10
months for reciting a poem and banned for
participating in elections, but his case was ignored
by European human rights activist. His reciting of
verses of a poem by an Ottoman poet which ran:
"Minarets are bayonets, the domes are
helmets/Mosques are our barracks, Muslim believers
are soldiers," led to Erdogan's conviction, on
charges of instigating an Islamic revolt in Turkey.
The Turkish media has also focused on the plight of
Pamuk, Turkey's most widely known novelist whose
works have been translated into 35 languages. "While
corruption and violence are usually excused in
Turkey, freedom of expression is still a sensitive
issue. To understand this, one should look at very
deep inside the Turkish society. Maybe we fear more
the telling of something than doing something”,
respected columnist Haluk Sahin wrote on left-wing
daily, Radikal.
Oktay Eksi, main columnist of the major daily,
Hurriyet, and chairman of the country's Press
Council, however has criticised Pamuk. "The first
way to be appreciated among Europeans is to talk
like ‘Turks...Oh my God!. You don’t know how bad it
is to be a Turk’. It seems that Pamuk learnt this.
In my opinion, Pamuk spoke about the Kurds and
Armenians only to get the Nobel prize,” he wrote
recently.
Turkish public opinion seems more or less split down
the middle over the trial. Many people do not
support Pamuk because the Armenian and Kurdish
issues are still widely-held taboos, and since the
recent rise in PKK attacks in southeast, the
priority is patriotism rather than freedom of
expression.
"He should not have said that. Does he have any
evidence that Turks killed 1 million Armenians and
30 thousand Kurd? No evidence at all. It's just a
useful material for our enemies abroad" exclaimed
Fehti, an Istanbul taxi driver.
"He should not be judged. Everyone should be free to
say what he thinks" argued Elif, who works as a
cleaner in a nearby office block.
On the eve of the trial, it is still not clear
whether Pamuk will be tried according to the new or
the old penal code since the incriminating interview
took place before the new code was approved.
In a recent BBC interview, Pamuk supported Turkey's
bid to enter the EU saying, “All I want is to turn
back to my books. Despite the reforms, Turkish
identity, Republic, The founder of the country [Kemal
Ataturk] and some state institutions can not be
criticised. I hope after entering the EU that this
will change ."
www.adnki.com
Related issue:
Armenian Genocide by Turkish Muslims against
Christians
Top |
® 