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Turkey: Local media continue to be hounded
under laws that need to be changed
28.1.2008
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January 28, 2008
Constant harassment of the media shows that serious
efforts are needed by the authorities to bring
Turkey’s laws and judicial practices into line with
democratic standards, Reporters Without Borders said
today. “Laws under which any comment straying from
the standard nationalist discourse can be prosecuted
must be abolished as they perpetuate an outmoded and
archaic concept of Turkey, and are responsible for
great injustice,” the organisation said.
Two journalists in southeastern Anatolia are
currently facing the possibility of imprisonment.
Yasin Yetisgen, the editor of the regional weekly
Coban Atesi, has been charged under article 318 of
the criminal code and Law 5816 of 1951 (concerning
crimes against the republic’s founder, Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk) for publishing a column by Berkant Coskun
headlined: “Don’t send me to the army, Mum.”
The column, published in the 8 November issue,
resulted in copies of the issue being seized the
next day. Yetisgen is due to appear before a
criminal court in Gaziantep on 9 May.
Haci Bogatekin, the owner of the newspaper Gerger
Firat, was arrested on 8 January on the orders
Sadullah Ovacikli, the prosecutor of the
sub-district of Gerger in the southeastern province
of Adiyaman, because of a 4 January editorial
entitled “Feto and Apo.” He is accused of
“propaganda” and “praise” of the outlawed Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK), which carry maximum penalties
of three and seven and half years in prison,
respectively.
“Feto” is the nickname of Fethullah Gülen, an
influential Muslim community leader who now lives in
the United States. “Apo” is the nickname of PKK
leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is serving a life
sentence in Imrali prison in northwest Turkey.
Ovacikli shouted at Bogatekin: “How dare you use the
name ‘Feto’ to refer to our master Fethullah Gülen,
someone who is loved by millions of people?” The
prosecutor added: “Either you apologise in your next
issue or thing will go badly for you.” Bogatekin
refused to give a statement to Ovacikli and used his
right to remain silent. He subsequently explained
why he wrote the article to the Gerger court.
In his view, radical Islam is the biggest danger
facing Turkey. At the same time, the forces of
religious fundamentalism and Kurdish terrorism are
clashing and “this battle is spreading,www.ekurd.net
especially in the
Kurdish regions of Turkey, and abroad.” He says the
ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) won last
July’s elections thanks to Gülen, and their plan is
to steer “the struggle for the liberation of the
Kurds” toward Islamic radicalism.
Accusing the Turkish army, seen as the guardian of
secularism, of abandoning the towns to the religious
sects in order to pursue the PKK militants in the
mountains, he calls for an end to the fighting
between the army and PKK.
When the court released Bogatekin, the prosecutor
immediately appealed. The case has been transferred
to a court in the city of Adiyaman, which must now
decide what happens to Bogatekin. The editor has
filed a complaint against Ovacikli with the High
Council for Judges (HSYK).
Several Kurdish media have meanwhile been targeted
by the authorities. The staff of the Kurdish daily
Gündem (Agenda) have decided to stop publishing in
protect against political and judicial harassment in
recent months. They staged a demonstration on 16
December in Galatasaray Square, in the district of
Beyoglu in the European part of Istanbul,www.ekurd.net
in protest against
“constant pressure against press freedom.”
Nonetheless, the police did not allow the staff to
distribute the last issue.
According to Gündem, since August 2006, eight
Kurdish newspapers have been suspended by the
authorities 18 times for periods of up to a month.
Gündem, which was launched in January 2007, has been
suspended six times. Güncel (Agenda), launched in
March 2007, has been suspended three times. Ülkede
Özgür Gündem (The Country’s Free Agenda), launched
in March 2004, has been suspended twice. Gerçek
Demokrasi and Yedinci Gün have been suspended twice.
Haftaya Bakis (Overview of the Week) and Azadiya
Welat, the only newspaper published in Kurdish, have
been suspended once.
Article 318 of the criminal code has not been
modified as part of the reforms carried out since
2002 with a view to rapprochement with the European
Union. It provides for jail terms of six months to
two years for distributing propaganda or encouraging
activities that could divert the population from
military service. The sentence is increased by a
half for journalists and news media.
Similarly, the government has not touched Law 5816,
under which insulting Ataturk is punishable by one
to three years in prison. In this case against, the
sentence is increased by a half for journalists and
news media.
rsf org
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