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  • BEIRUT: A French law harms free speech in Turkey

    The Daily Star, Lebanon
    Oct 13 2006

    A French law harms free speech in Turkey

    By Howard Eissenstat
    Commentary by
    Friday, October 13, 2006


    On October 12, France's National Assembly approved a proposal to
    criminalize the denial of the Armenian Genocide. If it also passes
    the Senate and receives presidential approval, the law will be a blow
    to freedom of speech in France; more importantly, it will also be a
    blow to freedom of speech in Turkey.

    For advocates of free speech in Turkey, the past few years have been
    a time both of great hopes and great frustration. In 2003 and 2004,
    when the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party government
    of Prime Minister Reccep Tayyip Erdogan first came to power, it
    seemed to promise a new, more democratic and pluralistic Turkey. In
    those heady days, it seemed that Turkey was poised to achieve its
    long-term goal of membership in the European Union.

    For the past year or two, however, such hopes have seemed
    increasingly Pollyannaish as Turkish reforms have stumbled. Most
    dramatically, a steady stream of Turkey's most prominent
    intellectuals, journalists, and authors have been brought to trial
    under the infamous Article 301 of the Turkish criminal code, which
    makes it a criminal offense, punishable by as many as three years in
    prison, to "denigrate Turkishness." The international stature of
    several of those accused, including novelists Orhan Pamuk and Elif
    Shafak, have ensured widespread media coverage of the trials and a
    steady decline in Turkey's stature abroad. Even as charges against
    one intellectual were dropped, several more cases emerged in steady
    succession, so that they have remained in the news and become a
    constant drain on Turkey's international standing.

    On September 21, Elif Shafak's case was thrown out of court as
    baseless. The charges against her, based on what a character in one
    of her novels said, was only the most absurd in a long series of
    embarrassing trials. Nevertheless, within a matter of days, new
    charges were brought up against Hrant Dink, the publisher of a small
    Armenian newspaper.

    In fact, this situation appears to be part of a concerted effort by
    members of the old elite within the bureaucracy and the military and
    their allies to sabotage both the Erdogan government and Turkey's
    European aspirations. The liberalization promised by the government -
    and demanded by the EU - placed elements of the old elite in a
    dilemma. Many in the Turkish bureaucracy, and particularly within the
    military, believe it is their right and duty to shepherd Turkey
    toward modernization. Elected officials are seen as too corrupt and
    the populace as too ignorant and fickle to be trusted with
    stewardship of the nation. When legal limitations are insufficient
    for maintaining control, a murky system of patronage, strong-arm
    tactics, and outright violence that the Turks refer to as the "deep
    state" can be relied on to keep both politicians and ordinary
    citizens in line. The liberalization demanded by the EU and the
    reforms implemented early on by the Erdogan government threaten this
    monopoly on real power.

    In recent weeks, the battle between the government and elements of
    the Turkish state has become more heated, with generals warning of
    the threats of political Islam almost on a daily basis. Yet,
    advocates of free speech have gained significant popular support. The
    public, seeing the ludicrous nature of the Article 301 trials, has
    started accepting the virtues of defending unpopular opinions. Both
    Erdogan and his foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, called Shafak while
    she awaited trial to demonstrate their support. For a time it seemed
    a corner had been turned, and advocates of free expression were
    starting to feel hopeful.
    http://www.dailystar.com.lb

    All of this came to a crashing halt thanks to the debate in France's
    National Assembly over the proposed law to criminalize denial of the
    Armenian genocide. The law is a bad idea for France and, more
    importantly, it has proven to be a tremendous blow to Turkish reform.

    History is not the issue. If we accept the definition of genocide
    used in the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention, there is no
    question that the Ottoman state's destruction of much of its Armenian
    population between 1915 and 1917 was genocidal. In dispute is whether
    denial of this fact should constitute a crime. After all, freedom of
    speech is the right to say what one believes, even if those beliefs
    are stupid, wrong, or offensive. Indeed, it is often beliefs that are
    offensive that require protection since they are most likely to be
    limited by state power.

    This has been the argument that Turkish liberals have been making as
    they have tried to build a more open and democratic society. This is
    the argument that has created space for public discussions of the
    Armenian genocide and for advocates of Turkish recognition of the
    crime, like Dink and Shafak. Despite significant pressure against
    this, openings have been made, conferences held, and articles
    written.

    Now, however, discussion of Article 301 has almost completely
    disappeared from the Turkish public sphere while newspapers endlessly
    discuss the French proposal. The draft law, moreover, has allowed the
    most anti-democratic elements in Turkish society to pose as
    "defenders of liberty." Turkish intellectuals who had been exerting
    their energy to develop greater awareness of the Armenian genocide,
    or simply working for more freedom, have been forced to suspend their
    criticisms of Article 301 to argue against the French law. They
    realize that defending the freedom to express unpopular opinions in
    Turkey requires that they also defend unpopular opinions in France.

    Criminalizing the denial of the Armenian genocide tarnishes France's
    reputation as a bastion of freedom of expression. More seriously, it
    will be a devastating blow to freedom of speech in Turkey.


    Howard Eissenstat teaches Middle Eastern history at Seton Hall
    University in New Jersey. He wrote this commentary for THE DAILY
    STAR.
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