Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Freer Speech: In Turkey, Democracy Is A Work In Progress

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Freer Speech: In Turkey, Democracy Is A Work In Progress

    FREER SPEECH: IN TURKEY, DEMOCRACY IS A WORK IN PROGRESS

    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
    January 29, 2008 Tuesday
    Pennsylvania

    One sign of a democratic society is its tolerance of free speech. By
    this standard, Turkey isn't fully democratic despite its booming
    economy, gleaming skyscrapers, educated citizens and increasingly
    liberal sensibilities.

    The biggest obstacle to the Muslim country's inclusion in the European
    Union is its hostility to free expression by its own academics and
    artists. For decades, Turkish writers and intellectuals who expressed
    opinions out of sync with the prevailing nationalistic orthodoxy have
    been prosecuted under a vague statute called Article 301.

    Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish writer who won the Nobel Prize for literature
    last year, was prosecuted under Article 301 but not convicted. His
    "crime" consisted of acknowledging as true the heartbreaking events
    that led to the birth of the nation he loves.

    Any mention of Turkey's complicity in the Armenian massacre is usually
    enough to generate a charge of "insulting Turkishness."

    Dozens of Turkey's most esteemed artists and intellectuals have been
    prosecuted under the law for such offenses since 1951.

    Questioning the actions of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey's founder,
    is still a crime under 301, but there are growing indications that
    the government is willing to weaken the law if it leads to European
    acceptance.

    Because Turkey's citizens are as defensive about their past as their
    government is, the process of intellectual liberalization will be
    a slow one. Still, the journey to a more vibrant democracy where
    freedom of speech is respected has begun in the pivotal country that
    straddles the fault line between East and West.
Working...
X