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Turkish prosecutors decide against charging writer
By Selcan Hacaoglu, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, December 29, 2005 | 2 comment(s)
ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish prosecutors decided not to file new charges against novelist Orhan Pamuk for allegedly denigrating Turkey's armed forces, but the writer still faces charges that he insulted “Turkishness,” said lawyers who sought his trial.
Nationalist lawyers had petitioned prosecutors to file criminal charges against Pamuk for reportedly telling a German newspaper, Die Welt, in October this year that the military threatened and prevented democratization in Turkey.
European officials have criticized Turkey for putting Pamuk on trial and called on the country to do more to protect freedom of expression.
Prosecutors today decided there were no grounds to try Pamuk for insulting the military, said nationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz. Kerincsiz said he would appeal the decision Friday.
“It is of course not possible for the prosecutors to make a sound decision under so much pressure,” said Kerincsiz. “We've come to the point where we're no longer able to protect our national values. Where will it all end?”
Kerincsiz said the army was portrayed as the enemy of democracy, calling it a “grave insult.”
Pamuk reportedly told Die Welt: “I don't see the (ruling Islamic-rooted) Justice and Development Party as a threat to Turkish democracy. Unfortunately, the threat comes from the army which sometimes prevents democratic development.”
The novelist still faces charges under a law which makes insulting Turkey a crime for having told a Swiss newspaper in February that ,000 Kurds and 1 million Armenians were killed in these lands, and nobody but me dares to talk about it.”
The remarks highlighted two of the most painful episodes in Turkish history: the massacre of Armenians during World War I - which Turkey insists was not a planned genocide - and recent guerrilla fighting in Turkey's overwhelmingly Kurdish southeast.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul acknowledged that charges brought against Pamuk had tarnished the country's image abroad and said laws that limit freedom of expression may be changed. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also assured that laws could be changed if there are serious flaws.
It was the first time the government indicated it could amend laws making it a crime to insult Turkey. But officials said the government would likely wait for the outcome of the charges brought against Pamuk and dozens of others before moving to amend the laws.
“We should not hurry. This is a new law, let's see how it works, what the outcomes are,” Erdogan said. “If there are serious problems, then of course the legislature will sit down, make a new assessment and take a new decision.”
In an interview published on Thursday, Pamuk told daily Aksam newspaper the government should carry out real - not cosmetic - reforms to expand freedom of expression if it wants to win EU membership.
“For a country to enter the EU, there has to be full respect of minority rights, freedom of thought and expression,” Pamuk said. “If you drag your feet and make cosmetic changes ... then this won't do. To believe that, you would need to be a child.”
----
Associated Press Writer Suzan Fraser contributed to this report.
Nationalist lawyers had petitioned prosecutors to file criminal charges against Pamuk for reportedly telling a German newspaper, Die Welt, in October this year that the military threatened and prevented democratization in Turkey.
European officials have criticized Turkey for putting Pamuk on trial and called on the country to do more to protect freedom of expression.
Prosecutors today decided there were no grounds to try Pamuk for insulting the military, said nationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz. Kerincsiz said he would appeal the decision Friday.
“It is of course not possible for the prosecutors to make a sound decision under so much pressure,” said Kerincsiz. “We've come to the point where we're no longer able to protect our national values. Where will it all end?”
Kerincsiz said the army was portrayed as the enemy of democracy, calling it a “grave insult.”
Pamuk reportedly told Die Welt: “I don't see the (ruling Islamic-rooted) Justice and Development Party as a threat to Turkish democracy. Unfortunately, the threat comes from the army which sometimes prevents democratic development.”
The novelist still faces charges under a law which makes insulting Turkey a crime for having told a Swiss newspaper in February that ,000 Kurds and 1 million Armenians were killed in these lands, and nobody but me dares to talk about it.”
The remarks highlighted two of the most painful episodes in Turkish history: the massacre of Armenians during World War I - which Turkey insists was not a planned genocide - and recent guerrilla fighting in Turkey's overwhelmingly Kurdish southeast.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul acknowledged that charges brought against Pamuk had tarnished the country's image abroad and said laws that limit freedom of expression may be changed. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also assured that laws could be changed if there are serious flaws.
It was the first time the government indicated it could amend laws making it a crime to insult Turkey. But officials said the government would likely wait for the outcome of the charges brought against Pamuk and dozens of others before moving to amend the laws.
“We should not hurry. This is a new law, let's see how it works, what the outcomes are,” Erdogan said. “If there are serious problems, then of course the legislature will sit down, make a new assessment and take a new decision.”
In an interview published on Thursday, Pamuk told daily Aksam newspaper the government should carry out real - not cosmetic - reforms to expand freedom of expression if it wants to win EU membership.
“For a country to enter the EU, there has to be full respect of minority rights, freedom of thought and expression,” Pamuk said. “If you drag your feet and make cosmetic changes ... then this won't do. To believe that, you would need to be a child.”
----
Associated Press Writer Suzan Fraser contributed to this report.
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