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  Free Speechless in Turkey: Ankara To Change One Law, But Others Still Muffle Dissent

Free Speechless in Turkey Ankara To Change One Law, But Others Still Muffle Dissent

By Stefanie von Brochowski in Ankara, Turkey

Part 2: 'Turkey Is not Yet Able To Handle Freedom of Speech'

Kadir Sivaci, an editor of Yeni Asir, remembers discussions about the case in the newsroom. "The things he said at the panel in Izmir, for example calling Ataturk ‘this guy’, offended us," he said, explaining the newspaper's initial reaction. But the editors of the daily soon regretted how they covered Yayla's speech.

"We understood our responsibility, and we understood how wrong it is to make people a target like this," he said. "Unfortunately it is very difficult for us to stay impartial on some sensitive issues. Turkey is not yet able to handle freedom of speech when it comes to subjects like Ataturk."

'There Will Be Chaos'

Many here believe that the legacy of Ataturk, who founded modern Turkey from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire and sought to make it a modern, secular state, requires special protection. To that end, even some journalists defend legal limitations like Article 301.

"Article 301 says ‘do not insult the state and its institutions.' It doesn’t say you cannot express your opinion," said Hayri Koklu, editor of the national-conservative daily Yeni Cag. "Shouldn’t there be laws in a democracy that protect against slander? If you abolish Article 301, there will be chaos."

Alper Gormus, former editor of the popular investigative magazine Nokta, said that in his case it was not merely the laws but also Turkey’s powerful military that interfered with press freedom.

Last March Nokta ran an article about an internal military document that categorized some journalists and organizations as being "against the army." The police, under instructions from a military prosecutor, raided the offices of the magazine shortly after the story was published, confiscated documents and copied computer hard drives.

"The magazine was stormed, and we lived with the policemen there for three days. They stayed overnight, too," Gormus said.

Turkish media organizations called the practice an affront to press freedom.

Shortly before the owner closed down the journal, it also published a story that claimed there had been a plot to stage a military coup in 2004 against the ruling AKP government.

Indicted for slander under Article 267 of the Turkish penal code by a retired navy commander named in the story, a court in Istanbul last Friday acquitted the former chief editor of Nokta on all charges. Meanwhile, Turkish media report that the "coup memoirs" mentioned in the story have been identified as files saved to computers of the former navy commander who sued Gormus.

Atilla Yayla wants to return to Turkey despite the issues that writers, journalists and intellectuals face. After the death threats he’s received, he only leaves the house with a police bodyguard when in Turkey.

"I have only one country," he said. "Turkey will change. I believe that in the mid-term and the long run we will have more freedom of expression. I am optimistic."

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