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THE EU'S SAFE GUIDE ON INSULTING TURKEY
Andy Dabilis
New Europe
http://www.neurope.eu/articles/86869.php
Ma y 26 2008
Belgium
It's too late for Hrant Dink, the brave Armenian-Turkish newspaperman
who was murdered in 2007, not long after being convicted of violating
Turkey's medieval Article 301 which made it a crime to "insult
Turkishness," which is pretty hard to do when so much of your history
is built on bayoneting babies and your national sport is invasion.
The European Union has weakly requested that Turkey scrap Article 301
as one requirement to become a member of the European Union, where it
is okay to insult all nationalities, allowed in real democracies. With
Dink's murder safely behind them, and knowing the economic benefits of
being in the EU are looming, Turkey has amended its law so that it's no
longer a crime to insult Turkishness. You just can't insult the Turkish
nation, which means you can only insult foreigners there apparently.
What's worse than this pretentious little tap dance around the truth
is that the EU has accepted it, allowing European politicians to save
face while smooching behinds at the same time, an acceptable maneuver
as they've long had the former so close to the latter. Any closer and
they'd pass the European Commission job test. The European Parliament
has said the change is not enough, but that's yesterday's resolution
for them, so they can move on to hiding their expense allowances. The
change regulating alleged freedom of speech in Turkey was greeted
with a quiet hallelujah in the EU, which called it "a constructive
step forward." Wrong direction. Turkey prefers its critics to be six
feet under.
"This step is both positive for Turkey and an indication of Turkey's
continuing commitment to the reform process," the EU said, in a press
release and not face-to-face with journalists who have a nasty habit
of asking pesky questions about cowardly gestures.
Turkey is getting there though. They've also reduced the penalty for
insulting Turkey - which is indistinct from Turkishness - from three
years in jail to two, which, if you've seen Midnight Express, means
you'll still come out squealing like a pig. Where is Orhan Pamuk,
the Nobel Laureate who was prosecuted for violating Article 301, to
write that this runningin- place change is a sham? The EU has never
had to worry about insulting Turkey or Turkishness or the Turkish
nation so they don't really care who goes to jail or gets killed
there as long as trade continues.
The new Article 301 is the same old Article 301. "This is just
lipstick for the European Union," Eren Keskin of the Human Rights
Association told Deutsche Press Agentur (dpa). Keskin was found guilty
of "insulting the armed forces" for suggesting the Turkish military
has too much influence, so her opinion counts.
"I do not want changes. I want the article annulled,"
Keskin said. "Stating your opinion will still be a crime," she
added. Journalist and rights campaigner Ertugru Kurkcu said the new
law "still leaves a lot of space for judges to decide and give their
own definition of the demarcation line between criticism and insult."
Even Council of Europe Secretary Terry Davis, who's never seen a
malleable law he didn't like, said he's unhappy. Well, kind of. "This
is to be welcomed. However, although an analysis of the new wording
indicates some progress in this respect, it does not alleviate all
concerns about excessive restrictions of the freedom of expression,"
he said. Tough talk alright.
If you want to know what happens to people who insult Turkey in any
guise, look no further than those like Dink who write about what
happened in Armenia, where a million or so people were slaughtered
by the Turks in a genocide or, in the Turkish version, all committed
suicide simultaneously. Those dissidents go to jail, or, like Dink,
into the ground, no matter what they name the law.
"This so-called reform is a joke," said Hilda Tchoboian, chairwoman
of the European Armenian Federation. "The European Union should not
let itself be anaesthetised by this gross manipulation of words,"
she said. That's an insult to the EU, which specialises in the gross
manipulation of words. To be safe, the EU has put out a guide on what
you can say and can't say about the Turkish nation. So far, there are
no entries in the "safe" category, but the EU should not belong to any
club that would have Turkey as a member. And Greek coffee is better.
Andy Dabilis
New Europe
http://www.neurope.eu/articles/86869.php
Ma y 26 2008
Belgium
It's too late for Hrant Dink, the brave Armenian-Turkish newspaperman
who was murdered in 2007, not long after being convicted of violating
Turkey's medieval Article 301 which made it a crime to "insult
Turkishness," which is pretty hard to do when so much of your history
is built on bayoneting babies and your national sport is invasion.
The European Union has weakly requested that Turkey scrap Article 301
as one requirement to become a member of the European Union, where it
is okay to insult all nationalities, allowed in real democracies. With
Dink's murder safely behind them, and knowing the economic benefits of
being in the EU are looming, Turkey has amended its law so that it's no
longer a crime to insult Turkishness. You just can't insult the Turkish
nation, which means you can only insult foreigners there apparently.
What's worse than this pretentious little tap dance around the truth
is that the EU has accepted it, allowing European politicians to save
face while smooching behinds at the same time, an acceptable maneuver
as they've long had the former so close to the latter. Any closer and
they'd pass the European Commission job test. The European Parliament
has said the change is not enough, but that's yesterday's resolution
for them, so they can move on to hiding their expense allowances. The
change regulating alleged freedom of speech in Turkey was greeted
with a quiet hallelujah in the EU, which called it "a constructive
step forward." Wrong direction. Turkey prefers its critics to be six
feet under.
"This step is both positive for Turkey and an indication of Turkey's
continuing commitment to the reform process," the EU said, in a press
release and not face-to-face with journalists who have a nasty habit
of asking pesky questions about cowardly gestures.
Turkey is getting there though. They've also reduced the penalty for
insulting Turkey - which is indistinct from Turkishness - from three
years in jail to two, which, if you've seen Midnight Express, means
you'll still come out squealing like a pig. Where is Orhan Pamuk,
the Nobel Laureate who was prosecuted for violating Article 301, to
write that this runningin- place change is a sham? The EU has never
had to worry about insulting Turkey or Turkishness or the Turkish
nation so they don't really care who goes to jail or gets killed
there as long as trade continues.
The new Article 301 is the same old Article 301. "This is just
lipstick for the European Union," Eren Keskin of the Human Rights
Association told Deutsche Press Agentur (dpa). Keskin was found guilty
of "insulting the armed forces" for suggesting the Turkish military
has too much influence, so her opinion counts.
"I do not want changes. I want the article annulled,"
Keskin said. "Stating your opinion will still be a crime," she
added. Journalist and rights campaigner Ertugru Kurkcu said the new
law "still leaves a lot of space for judges to decide and give their
own definition of the demarcation line between criticism and insult."
Even Council of Europe Secretary Terry Davis, who's never seen a
malleable law he didn't like, said he's unhappy. Well, kind of. "This
is to be welcomed. However, although an analysis of the new wording
indicates some progress in this respect, it does not alleviate all
concerns about excessive restrictions of the freedom of expression,"
he said. Tough talk alright.
If you want to know what happens to people who insult Turkey in any
guise, look no further than those like Dink who write about what
happened in Armenia, where a million or so people were slaughtered
by the Turks in a genocide or, in the Turkish version, all committed
suicide simultaneously. Those dissidents go to jail, or, like Dink,
into the ground, no matter what they name the law.
"This so-called reform is a joke," said Hilda Tchoboian, chairwoman
of the European Armenian Federation. "The European Union should not
let itself be anaesthetised by this gross manipulation of words,"
she said. That's an insult to the EU, which specialises in the gross
manipulation of words. To be safe, the EU has put out a guide on what
you can say and can't say about the Turkish nation. So far, there are
no entries in the "safe" category, but the EU should not belong to any
club that would have Turkey as a member. And Greek coffee is better.