taking on the derin devlet
On Friday, the Justice Ministry submitted a proposal to the Turkish Parliament for the revision of Article 301. It's not enough: the law must be repealed, and free speech advocates in Turkey won't stop fighting until it has been. The current proposal weakens its terms somewhat, removing the word "Turkishness", but still criminalizes insults to the republic. Several other articles of the Turkish Penal Code that have been used to restrict freedom of expression will also remain in place. But the proposed amendment makes a key practical change: in order to bring charges, prosecutors will be required to seek the permission of the Justice Ministry. In practice, this should stem or stop the 301 cases of the sort we've seen frequently over the past few years--the prosecutions of journalists, novelists, writers, and intellectuals, launched by ultranationalist lawyers and sympathetic right-wing judges. The AKP government did not instigate these cases (and indeed, is embarrassed by them--Abdullah Gül once said they were as damaging to Turkey's reputation as the film "Midnight Express"); rather, neo-nationalist activists were able to jurisdiction-shop and file cases with the aid of court officials sympathetic to their agenda. The prosecutions of Hrant Dink, Ragip Zarakolu, Orhan Pamuk, Elif Shafak and many others, as well as the effort to use the courts to halt the Armenian conference at Bilgi in 2005, arose in this fashion.
AKP party leaders have proved willing to use some of the repressive elements of the penal code when it suits their interests (Erdoğan has displayed a particular animosity towards editorial cartoonists), and free speech in Turkey will not be secure until the laws are fully rescinded. Nonetheless, though a partial victory, it's a victory still, and should go a long way to improve the plight of those who dare to speak out on controversial issues. Sabrina Tavernise (whose excellent coverage of contemporary Turkey gives me hope for the future of international reporting at the NYT)* has a detailed overview here.
The proposal for reform of Article 301 was one strike against ultranationalist forces in Turkey last week; another--which may prove even more important in the long run--was the arrest of a number of prominent right-wing nationalist figures who have been accused of conspiring to assassinate Orhan Pamuk and Leyla Zana, among others, in a plot intended to bring about a military coup, remove the AKP from power, and prevent Turkey's entry into the EU. The group, called the Ergenekon (a term referencing a racist/nationalist myth of Turkish origins) has been linked to a cache of weapons found in Istanbul in June; those arrested include several former senior military officers, the nationalist lawyer Kemal Kerinçsiz, a newspaper columnist, and a prominent gang member. Human rights journalistr Erol Önderoğlu (whom I had the pleasure of getting to know when I was interning in the newsroom at Bianet) has a good piece on the "usual troublemakers" involved; here; Bianet also has another short piece on Kerinçsiz in particular. I've been writing about this man's viciousness since 2005. (Going through the archives in search of him is depressing; many of the 2006 posts mention his vendetta against Hrant Dink. Whether or not the Ergenekon plotters were directly involved in that murder, I firmly believe that Dink's blood is on his hands, if only for the role he played in making Dink so visible and hated on the right. I am glad to see him in handcuffs.)
In any case, the Ergenekon arrests have caught the eyes of the Turkish nation, and will hopefully prompt a more thorough airing of the links between the so-called derin devlet (the "deep state") and paramilitary and extremist groups than anything since 1996's Susurluk affair. I imagine the progress of the case over next several months is going to be tumultuous--these people have ties to powerful forces in the army and state bureaucracies--but on the whole, I think it's a very good sign indeed for those fighting for a more democratic, cosmopolitan, and rights-respecting Turkey.
* on Tavernise: I was mentioning my surprise at how good the NYT coverage of Turkey had become to my mentor back during the 2007 Turkish elections, and he said he had actually gone so far as to send her a letter of praise and thanks. She does a better job of explaining the complicated strands in Turkish politics and society better than any other reporter for a US publication that I've read. See also pieces on the Ergenekon arrests and a move to reform the law banning headscarves on campuses.
AKP party leaders have proved willing to use some of the repressive elements of the penal code when it suits their interests (Erdoğan has displayed a particular animosity towards editorial cartoonists), and free speech in Turkey will not be secure until the laws are fully rescinded. Nonetheless, though a partial victory, it's a victory still, and should go a long way to improve the plight of those who dare to speak out on controversial issues. Sabrina Tavernise (whose excellent coverage of contemporary Turkey gives me hope for the future of international reporting at the NYT)* has a detailed overview here.
The proposal for reform of Article 301 was one strike against ultranationalist forces in Turkey last week; another--which may prove even more important in the long run--was the arrest of a number of prominent right-wing nationalist figures who have been accused of conspiring to assassinate Orhan Pamuk and Leyla Zana, among others, in a plot intended to bring about a military coup, remove the AKP from power, and prevent Turkey's entry into the EU. The group, called the Ergenekon (a term referencing a racist/nationalist myth of Turkish origins) has been linked to a cache of weapons found in Istanbul in June; those arrested include several former senior military officers, the nationalist lawyer Kemal Kerinçsiz, a newspaper columnist, and a prominent gang member. Human rights journalistr Erol Önderoğlu (whom I had the pleasure of getting to know when I was interning in the newsroom at Bianet) has a good piece on the "usual troublemakers" involved; here; Bianet also has another short piece on Kerinçsiz in particular. I've been writing about this man's viciousness since 2005. (Going through the archives in search of him is depressing; many of the 2006 posts mention his vendetta against Hrant Dink. Whether or not the Ergenekon plotters were directly involved in that murder, I firmly believe that Dink's blood is on his hands, if only for the role he played in making Dink so visible and hated on the right. I am glad to see him in handcuffs.)
In any case, the Ergenekon arrests have caught the eyes of the Turkish nation, and will hopefully prompt a more thorough airing of the links between the so-called derin devlet (the "deep state") and paramilitary and extremist groups than anything since 1996's Susurluk affair. I imagine the progress of the case over next several months is going to be tumultuous--these people have ties to powerful forces in the army and state bureaucracies--but on the whole, I think it's a very good sign indeed for those fighting for a more democratic, cosmopolitan, and rights-respecting Turkey.
* on Tavernise: I was mentioning my surprise at how good the NYT coverage of Turkey had become to my mentor back during the 2007 Turkish elections, and he said he had actually gone so far as to send her a letter of praise and thanks. She does a better job of explaining the complicated strands in Turkish politics and society better than any other reporter for a US publication that I've read. See also pieces on the Ergenekon arrests and a move to reform the law banning headscarves on campuses.
posted by kitabet at 8:41 PM
2 Comments:
I agree with you on Sabrina Tavernise.
yuvakuran: hoşgeldiniz, and I'm glad there are others who appreciate her work. She's had several more excellent pieces in the last week--if only the NYTimes people elsewhere were as good.
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