"Turkish parliamentary commission adopts Article 301
The Turkish Parliament's EU Adjustment Commission on Wednesday adopted a bill to make amendments to Articles 301 and 305 of Turkey's penal code. The bill will be debated at the Justice Commission on Friday."
By Jenny White
The government has submitted a proposal to Parliament to amend the infamous Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which has been used to to prosecute intellectuals, journalists and activists for “insulting Turkishness.” (See my March 21 blog entry on Ms. Erin Keskin’s recent conviction under Article 301.)
CENGİZ ÇANDAR
Asia Times Online :: Middle East News, Iraq, Iran current affairs "Ertugrul Ozkok: Who requested this communiqué ?
I stand amazed... I heard that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) would issue a communiqué against the closure case of ruling AKP.
What’s more, such a request would be the first in the history of this country.
Tremors in Turkey - The Boston Globe Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has never been more lucid. "[The situation is] worse than you think," he told three colleagues of mine on his way to meet his British counterpart, David Miliband, the other day.
Mehmet Ali Birand
Turkish Parliament Speaker Does Not Predict Early Elections In Turkey A legal case for the closure of Turkey's ruling party on anti-secularism charges is a matter for Turks to decide and Washington hopes that the issue will be resolved in a way that takes into
Nato is courting disaster in Afghanistan by relying too much on force to defeat the Taliban, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said in an interview to daily Telegraph yesterday. Babacan met British Prime
Turkey is a European Union candidate with ongoing negotiations and is therefore a part of the Union's
ORHAN KİLERCİOĞLU
Mustafa AKYOL
Mehmet Ali Birand
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has taken refuge at somewhere not so far discovered by the media in hopes of having some “undisturbed” time “away from the watchful eyes” of the media in order to concentrate on the “roadmap” the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will follow regarding the closure case against itself at the Constitutional Court, and to finalize the contents of the “reform package” expected to be unveiled sometimes later this month and perhaps as early as next week.Reporters following the prime minister conceded their failure Wednesday in finding out where the prime minister disappeared and while it was claimed that excluding some top party executives and some senio
Those in the future who write the history of democracy in Turkey will have to set aside an entire chapter titled "Years law was ashamed of."
By MUSTAFA ÜNAL, ZAMAN
Should Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) be changed? Yes, it is, after all, quite backwards when it comes to democracy, freedom of thought and universal standards in general.
By YILDIRAY OĞUR, TARAF
Our "Democracy History" book is like a book sold for YTL 1. And we have volumes of the "Coup History" book. Every volume is as thick as a brick.
By HASAN BÜLENT KAHRAMAN, SABAH
Is secularity a necessary condition of democracy? Yes, because if there were a different sort of model at hand, the very essence of liberal democracy would be neglected. In other words, certain faiths and beliefs would put pressure on other faiths and beliefs as well as on the personal wills of individuals in society.
