Turkish Parliament softens restrictions on freedom of speech

Turkey inched closer to the EU yesterday (29 April) as its legislators approved a bill easing a controversial clause in its penal code which outlaws criticism of Turkish identity. The move was a key condition laid down by the EU in view of accession, but sceptics said the amendments were purely superficial. 

Parliament voted 250-65 in favour of amending Article 301, which critics see as one of the biggest restraints on freedom of expression in the country. The ‘yes’ votes came solely from the ruling AKP party of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, which dominates the 550-seat Parliament with 340 lawmakers. 

The amendment, which still has to be approved by President Abdullah Gül before it can come into effect, foresees narrowing the scope of what can be defined as a crime by replacing the wording “denigrating the Turkish identity” with the term “denigrating the Turkish nation”. The President’s signature is seen as a mere formality.

Furthermore, any prosecution under the law would be conditional on the approval of Turkey’s justice minister and maximum sentences would be reduced from three to two years imprisonment. 

The existing Article 301 has been used as the basis of a number of cases against authors and journalists in the past two years, including the Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was murdered last year because of his convictions. 

Leading EU officials have long urged Turkey to reform this law, most recently Commission President José Manuel Barroso on his visit to Turkey earlier this month (EURACTIV 11/04/08). Addressing Turkish MPs, Barroso said that reforms “will be the best guarantee of progress in negotiations and above all they are in the interest of the citizens of Turkey”. 

The Erdogan government, however, does not plan to annul the article entirely as the EU was hoping. Minister of Justice Mehmet Ali ?ahin said “the amendments in Art. 301 are in parallel with EU countries which have the similar legislation,” referring to France, Germany and the Netherlands. 

He further stressed that with these amendments, punishment for insults against the Turkish identity as well as the Turkish republic would not be ruled out entirely.

The vice president of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Hakki Süha Okay, heavily criticised the amendments for not being “rational”. He accused the government of blindly following orders, saying the proposal was “carelessly prepared” and would not bring anything new. 

“This change is just an eyewash, nothing else,” Okay pointed out. 

Devlet Bahceli, who heads the opposition Nationalist Action Party, argued along the same lines, even calling for referendum to allow the people to decide “whether or not they want Turkish values and Turkey’s honourable history to be insulted”.

Nevertheless, the Slovenian EU Presidency welcomed the move as a “constructive step forward in ensuring freedom of expression,” looking forward to its “effective implementation”, sentiments which were echoed by the Commission.  

Read more with Euractiv

EU Presidency upset over Lithuanian veto of EU-Russia accord

The Slovenian government, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, has heavily criticised Lithuania for not withdrawing its objections to initiating talks on a new partnership pact between the EU and Russia.