A Turkish law that chills speech now spurs debate

By Jonathan Gorvett, Globe Correspondent | December 15, 2005

ISTANBUL -- Some of Turkey's leading media and literary figures are facing possible prison sentences because of a controversial law that makes it illegal to ''insult Turkishness."

Among them is Orhan Pamuk, the country's best-known novelist, who ran afoul of authorities over comments about the Turks' mass killing of Armenians beginning in 1915. And Fatih Tas, a Kurdish publisher, is being prosecuted for translating a book by MIT political scientist John Tirman that criticizes the Turkish military's actions during its war with Kurdish separatists.

They join a group of about 60 others who have been targeted under a catchall regulation, Article 301 of the criminal code, which bars the ''denigration of Turkishness, the Republic, and the foundation and institutions of the State." The prosecutor is seeking jail terms of six months to 10 years over the regulation, which has been widely condemned by international human rights groups.

In the series of courtroom battles, many Turks see the shape of a much wider conflict in Turkish society just two months after the government opened membership talks with the European Union. The EU has been pressing Turkey to address its infringements on freedom of expression.

''In Turkey today, there are those who want democracy and those who don't," said Hrant Dink, editor of the Istanbul-based newspaper Agos. ''Naturally, this is the kind of thing that happens," referring to the recent prosecutions.

Dink was found guilty in October after writing in his paper, which is mainly read by the country's ethnic Armenian community, that Turkey should improve its relations with Armenia. He also wrote that Armenians should symbolically reject ''the adulterated part of their Turkish blood."

The court found this comment to imply Turkish blood was impure and therefore the article was an insult to the state. He is appealing a six-month suspended jail sentence.

The subject of Armenia has long been highly sensitive in Turkey and has acted as a flashpoint for much of the recent conflict over freedom of expression.

In May, a conference called by Turkish academics to discuss the fate of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire -- Turkey's predecessor -- had to be canceled after Justice Minister Cemal Cicek called it a ''stab in the back" for Turkey. It was widely expected that the academics would acknowledge the slaughter of the Empire's Armenians in 1915 as a genocide, against Turkey's official position.

After an international outcry, the conference eventually took place in late September. This time, the government rallied to the conference's defense, with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul announcing he would personally open it. Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan also gave it his blessing.

Pamuk's case has attracted worldwide attention. In February, the writer told the Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger that ''30,000 Kurds and a million Armenians were killed in these lands, and nobody but me dares to talk about it." The trial of Pamuk, author of ''My Name Is Red" and ''Snow," begins tomorrow.

The European Union question has also loomed large. To improve its chances of eventually joining the bloc, the country has had to make major political reforms, including legalizing broadcasting in Kurdish, revamping the criminal code, and gradually instituting civilian control of the military.

However, ''There is a whole part of the Turkish establishment which doesn't accept change," said Cengiz Candar, who lectures on international issues at Istanbul's Kultur University. ''They know that if you prosecute Orhan Pamuk or Hrant Dink, it will make a very bad impact on Turkey's image and might scuttle Turkey's chances with the European Union. What is happening is guerrilla warfare against Turkey's EU accession."

The prosecutions, meanwhile, are speeding up. Earlier this month, five prominent newspaper columnists were also charged under the law, again over articles written on the Armenian issue.

If the prosecutions are successful, ''Turkey will fall back to being among the world's third-class countries," the chairman of the Turkish Press Council, Oktay Eksi, said in a recent statement.

Amid the conflict, there have been signs of greater openness in Turkey. The news media have been much more vocal in covering such formerly taboo topics as military spending, and analysts have noted progress on human rights.

''Nowadays you can see acquittals in rights cases that even a few years ago would have ended in convictions," said Jonathan Sugden, the chief researcher on Europe and Central Asia for Human Rights Watch in London. ''Some judges are also getting training in European conventions on human rights, and in international law on these issues, both of which are applicable in Turkish courts."

However, many Turks cannot say with certainty who will win the battle between conservatives and reformers in the government.

''In these kinds of atmospheres, all talk about freedom of speech gets shifted right off the agenda," Sugden said.

Others are optimistic that the struggle over Article 301 could lead to greater openness and freedom of expression.