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  • European Union will "watch" the trial of Turkish writer

    Hindu, India
    Oct 9 2005


    European Union will "watch" the trial of Turkish writer

    Pamuk facing charges for writing about the deaths of Kurds and
    Armenians




    ISTANBUL: The European Union enlargement chief met on Saturday
    Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk at his home in Istanbul, where the two
    discussed freedom of expression ahead of Mr. Pamuk's December trial
    for allegedly insulting the Turkish identity.

    A Turkish prosecutor used a clause in the penal code to open a case
    against Mr. Pamuk, one of Turkey's most successful writers, for
    remarks he made about the deaths of Kurds and Armenians in Turkey.

    The clause has also been used in recent days to convict an
    Armenian-Turkish journalist, raising concerns about Turkey's
    tolerance of free expression.

    The E.U. has said it will be watching closely when Mr. Pamuk goes
    before a judge on December 16.

    Controversial code


    European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn, on the third day
    of a visit to Turkey following the opening of the country's E.U.
    membership talks on Tuesday, met Mr. Pamuk for around an hour and a
    half, NTV television reported.

    Mr. Pamuk said he and Mr. Rehn did not discuss the case directly, but
    talked about ``human rights in Turkey in general,'' the Anatolia news
    agency reported.

    The 301st paragraph of the new penal code says ``a person who insults
    Turkishness, the Republic or the Turkish Parliament will be punished
    with imprisonment ranging from six months to three years.''

    Some prosecutors have liberally interpreted the code and used it to
    try those who question Turkey's treatment of minorities, particularly
    Armenians and Kurds.

    On Friday, Turkey convicted Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink
    under the same clause for an article he wrote earlier this year in
    which he mentioned poison and Turkish blood in the same sentence.

    The court said the article was ``intended to be insulting and
    offensive,'' while Mr. Dink said his words were taken out of context.


    Mr. Dink, who has lived in Turkey all his life, received a six-month
    suspended sentence.

    He said the conviction was an attempt to silence him and held back
    tears as he said on Turkish television that he would leave Turkey if
    he could not get his conviction overturned.

    Genocide charge


    A case was opened against Mr. Pamuk after he told a Swiss newspaper
    in February, ``30,000 Kurds and 1 million Armenians were killed in
    these lands and nobody but me dares to talk about it.'' He was
    referring to those killed during Turkey's two-decade conflict with
    Kurdish rebels and to Armenians killed by Ottoman Turks around the
    time of World War I.

    Armenians and several countries recognise those killings as the first
    genocide of the 20th century, which Turkey denies.

    ``My trial isn't something that worries me, but Turkey's democracy,
    human rights and freedom of expression are important details for all
    of us,'' Anatolia quoted Mr. Pamuk as saying. -
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