Even assisting the security forces comes at a price in Turkey. On 11 July 2005, a Turkish soldier, Coskun Kirandi, was kidnapped by the PKK, the Kurdish guerrilla organisation. After considerable public pressure on the authorities to do something, a peace committee comprising human-rights activists, lawyers, local politicians and journalists managed to secure his release on 4 August. Speaking on TV, Kirandi said his captors had treated him well. But, for this heinous crime of getting a soldier released, the Turkish authorities have charged the peace committee with making propaganda for a terrorist organisation. The court case is due on 3 March. Members face four to five years in prison.
Turkey's problem with human rights cannot be solved by the outcome of a single court case. With Austria, which holds the EU presidency, opposing Turkey's application to join the Union, the task has become even harder. Yet the Turkish government's repressive approach seems likely to remain.
So if, for a while to come, you discuss a genocide, protest against the police, or free a soldier, you will be breaking the law. Though I do wonder if, somewhere in Turkey, a writer is flabbergasted that in England you can't ring a bell near Downing Street without getting arrested.
Friday, January 20, 2006
New Statesman - Mark Thomas spots a human rights turkey
New Statesman - Mark Thomas spots a human rights turkey
