BANNED BOOKS AND CENSORSHIP IN TURKEY

"Did you ever hear anyone say 'That work had better be banned because I might read it and it might be very damaging to me'?"
~ Joseph Henry Jackson.

It's Banned Books Week in America, something of which I'm rather fond. What is Banned Books Week? Is that where everyone goes around banning books or lighting bonfires and burning them? Quite the contrary. Read on:

Banned Books Week is the only national celebration of the freedom to read. It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than a thousand books have been challenged since 1982. The challenges have occurred in every state and in hundreds of communities. People challenge books that they say are too sexual or too violent. They object to profanity and slang, and protest against offensive portrayals of racial or religious groups--or positive portrayals of homosexuals. Their targets range from books that explore the latest problems to classic and beloved works of American literature.

[ . . . ]

During the last week of September every year, hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country draw attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events. The 2008 celebration of Banned Books Week will be held from September 27 through October 4.

More information is available at bannedbooksweek.org and there is a short list and a bit of history about books that the US government has attempted to censor over the years here. Learn even more at the Forbidden Library.

Since it is Banned Books Week, I think it's appropriate to note that the International Publishers Association (IPA) has awarded its 2008 Freedom to Publish prize to Ragıp Zarakoğlu. There's a bio of Zarakoğlu at Scotland on Sunday.

From Info-Turk, there is Zarakoğlu's recent speech on censorship in Turkey:

We can define Turkey as a country in transition, from authoritarianism to democracy, from "the national security state" to a democratic state of equal and free citizens, a process which has been underway for a century.

During the Cold War, the armed forces of the pro-US countries faced external enemies but also a so-called internal enemy. In the 1960s and ‘70s a new sort of military coup swept the world. Argentina, Chile, Indonesia and Turkey experienced a kind of genocide, targeting different sections of the Left. Militarists seized state power, trying to socially engineer an entire political system.

Using a national security model perfected in collaboration with the Pentagon, National Security Councils were established in client states, with the model’s most extreme form developed in Turkey. There the National Security Council was transformed into the highest political decision-maker, with the equal participation of a self-governing military apparatus. It even had a secret constitution, the Document of National Security Politics, known as the Red Book.

At the instigation of the army the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan removed "ultra-nationalism" and "racism" from the Red Book’s list of national threats, opening the door to aggressive nationalism and the legitimization of extremist violence. Conspiracy theorists fuelled a wave of nationalist paranoia as a by-product of psychological warfare. TV programmes extolled racism and violence, creating a new kind of role model for society.

Though painted as dauntless defenders of secularism, the state sustains a form of secularism where most religious functionaries can claim a civil servant’s salary. Non-Muslim bodies run by and supporting Turkish citizens enjoy no such support.

These "threats" are created and exaggerated by an obsolete militarism trying to control society. The General Staff’s website – one of the key objectives of which is to deny the 1915 Armenian genocide – includes Christian missionaries on its list of dangers. They see Greek and Armenian orthodox foundations run by Turkish citizens as a threat to national security.

Some courts have even ruled Turkish non-Muslim organizations to be “foreign bodies”. Former president Ahmet Necdet Sezer vetoed a bill reforming Turkey’s Law of Foundations, objecting to privileges for “foreigners." The Greek Patriarchate, spiritual leader of the Greek Christian minority in Turkey, is accused of heading a "new Vatican".

The secret Subordinate Committee for Minorities, established by Ismet Inönü’s government in 1961 helped pave the way for the wave of repression against minorities. It has worked. The once thriving Greek minority population in Istanbul has declined to about 1,900 today.

Every year another minority school or church closes. Even western Protestant and Catholic communities in this so-called secular country face significant obstacles to registering and opening places of worship.

Extreme nationalist Grey Wolf groups have bombed the Greek Patriarchate, and pseudo-leftist nationalists have attacked Protestants. No direct orders need to be issued. The numerous racist and nationalist organisations will do whatever is required.

I ask: were the objections to Hrant Dink’s reports on the alleged Armenian roots of Sabiha Gokçen, adopted daughter of Kemal Ataturk, a coincidence? Were the threats against Turkey’s Assyrian and Syriac peoples that followed new allegations of genocide against their communities at the end of the Ottoman era, a coincidence? Are a recent series of attacks on Catholic clerics a coincidence? Why are Protestants and Germans in Turkey suddenly facing harassment for following their religious beliefs?

An entire mindset has been based on the concept of “one nation, one religion, one sect" and of an era governed by "one party". What has all this to do with a state that claims to be secularist?

We should look at the global picture and a wider range of events fostered by the secret armies organised by NATO after the Second World War. Trained by US and British Special Forces, the so-called Stay Behind units – commandos equipped to stage behind the lines attacks on a Soviet assault that never came – instead linked up with right-wing terrorists to target imagined internal threats from the left.

Despite being exposed as terrorist conspirators at the end of the Cold War by Italian premier Giulio Andreotti and other European leaders, the last units in Turkey continued to operate against the Kurdish rebels and Turkey’s leftist community.

Only after Russia’s military intervention in Turkey’s Black Sea neighbour Georgia did Ankara finally take steps to disband its last embarrassing legacy of Cold War NATO membership, the Ergenekon Turkish counter-guerilla force.

There are no coincidences. A deeply militarist mindset lays deep roots. Turkey lost its political balance after the annihilation of the Left by the military juntas. The very existence of the country’s left depends on international solidarity.

Unfortunately, since September 11, 2001, national security state anti-terror laws have been given even more power in Turkey – indeed, in many countries - to restrict freedom of expression.

Our publishing house, Belge International Publishing, was targeted under anti-terror laws when we published books about the Kurdish Question and the Armenian genocide. Books that critiqued state terror and condemned terrorism were accused under anti-terror law.


The Erdoğan government reformed the anti-terror law in 2004, deleting a clause that controlled the opposition press. But in 2006 the National Security Council demanded that the clause be restored in a stricter form.

Now the Kurdish and opposition publications may be silenced for a year waiting for trials to begin. Their defence lawyers’ rights are restricted. Jailed journalists are sent to special isolation prisons where they have fewer rights than "ordinary" criminals.


As the 2007 Turkish Publishers’ Association Report On The Freedom Of Publishing noted: the papers Özgür Gündem, Atılım, Birgün and Evrensel, broadcasters Free Radio and Voice of Anatolia and periodicals Özgür Halk, Yürüyüş and Kaos GL have been banned and some even faced raids by security forces.

The editor of the periodical Sanat ve Hayat and the chair of the BEKSAV Institution for Art and Culture, Hacı Orman was threatened and arrested. Some 600 separate charges were brought against the Özgür Gündem and its editor-in-chief Hasan Bayar sentenced to nearly six years imprisonment.


As we found again in our 2008 Report On The Freedom Of Publishing, article 8 and 7.2 of the Anti-Terror Law was particularly directed against the media. The newspaper Alternatif was banned for a month a week after opening. The same fate awaited the newspaper İşçi-Köylü (Worker-Peasant).

The negative effects of these restored and enhanced clauses to the Anti-Terror Law became increasingly clear, even to those who had closed their ears to the warnings of the Turkish Publishers’ Association.

Even mainstream papers such as Hürriyet and Radikal tangled with the anti-terror law for interviews they published. Meanwhile Füsun Erdoğan, chief editor of Free Radio and four staffers at Atılım, are charged with membership of an ‘illegal organisation’.

Though Vedat Kurşun, editor of Turkey’s only Kurdish language daily Welat, has recently been released, the editor-in-chief of the periodical Odak was not freed, even though he suffers from a terminal illness. And Ali Turgay, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Seventh Day, was arrested as he made a statement to Beşiktaş Judicial Court. He is charged with ‘aiding and abetting an illegal organisation’.

But around the world free speech groups criticize Turkey’s anti-terror law and its abusive curtailment of freedom of expression. The European Court of Justice has upheld appeals against the convictions of publishers of opposition media under the Anti-Terror Law.

As we said in our 2008 Report, narrow-minded interpretations of article 215 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalises the praising of a criminal or a criminal act, make it difficult to publish documents relating to the last 40 years of Turkish political history.

Although the banning of books has become rare, the collected writings of Mahir Çayan, a youth leader of 1968 and his ‘Revolutionary Songs,’ both published by Su Publishing were banned. A similar collection by Bora Publishing was banned in 2004.

Writer Haluk Gerger was imprisoned for a talk he gave on Deniz Gezmiş, a youth hero of ’68. Temel Demirer is currently standing trial for speaking at a panel in Tunceli about İbrahim Kaypakkaya, another youth leader from that era. A separate case against the same writer - for his speech at the memorial ceremony for Hrant Dink - is currently suspended as a result of the change made to Article 301.

After former parliamentarian Mahmut Alınak was jailed for his proposing that streets in the city of Kars be named after left wing and pro-Kurdish figures, we were happy to learn that a park in Diyarbakır was to be named after publisher Ayşe Nur Zarakolu.


But the decision was reversed by the Diyarbakır governor on the grounds that she had once been imprisoned, even though Ankara had already agreed to pay compensation after the European Court of Human Rights found she was unfairly convicted.


There are gains. After Hayat TV was closed by order of Turkish Radio & TV (RTUK) in July, a protest by writers and intellectuals led to the lifting of the ban in August.

But this is not enough. The core of the issue lies in the unsolved Kurdish problem, an issue on which militarists have never sought a peaceful political settlement, and who see the issue of respect for human rights as the main obstacle to solving the ‘problem’!

Finding a just and political settlement for the Kurdish problem will break militarism’s means of controlling society. The Kurdish war is the military’s justification for political interference, a policy that suits Prime Minister Erdoğan well.

The military tolerates political Islam in return for acceptance of the Anti-Terror and Police Authority laws. That frees it to target the "internal enemy" at home and abroad, including progressive academics such as historian Taner Akcam in the US and Holland.

We do not show enough solidarity with the Kurdish media, in recognition of the threats and pressure they endure.

So to show that solidarity I accepted the honorary post of editor-in-chief of the newspaper Alternative, to show support for freedom of expression and the right to freely express opinions on the Kurdish question.

And as a result I was summoned by the prosecutor of the Serious Crimes Court at the end of August on connection with possible breaches of the Anti-Terror Law.

You will hear more soon.

Ragip Zarakolu

These days, of course, it's not just books or publishers that are censored in Turkey, from Canada's Globe and Mail:

A Turkish court decision to ban the website of a renowned British atheist academic has stirred fresh doubts about the European Union candidate's commitment to freedom of speech.

Approximately 850 Internet websites, including Youtube, have been blocked this year in Turkey, the number swollen by recent laws making it possible to block sites without a court order.

“When you look at Internet regulation Turkey looks to be in the same league as Tunisia or North Korea, and that doesn't bode well for EU requirements,” said Cengiz Aktar, professor at Istanbul's Bahcesehir University.

“The Internet is one of the most instrumental means of spreading information, it is an unprecedented instrument, and forbidding the internet is forbidding freedom of speech,” he said.

Since it is Banned Books Week, and since there is no freedom of speech or freedom of expression in Turkey, and since the Kurdish people have been the victims of censorship for so many decades, take your favorite book on the Kurdish struggle and donate it to your local library this week.

Do it for the Kurdish struggle.

Do it for those publishers, writers, and journalists in Turkey who are under severe pressure from the regime.

Do it because you can.

HEROES, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AND TURKISH NUKES

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.”
~ Joseph Campbell.

There's something on Ragıp Zarakoğlu from last weekend on Scotland on Sunday, thanks to Seta's Armenian Blog:

In the 30 years since he and his first wife Ayse started their publishing house, Belge, he has gone through 40 trials. Although he says he can generally cope with the pressure, it's not always manageable - he spent several months last year in a US hospital being treated for heart problems. Now, in his late 50s, he faces the possibility of a three-year jail sentence.

[ . . .]

Most of us think of Turkey as a cheap holiday destination – a place of sandy beaches, brilliant sunshine and the odd ruin to add a little culture to our break. We wouldn't think twice about letting the Turks into the European Union – Turkey is, after all, a modern, democratic society, is it not? For all the talk about the oppressed Kurds, every second carpet seller in Istanbul is Kurdish, so what's the problem?

But Turkey is not quite like that. Since 1984, 30,000 Kurds have been burned out of their villages and murdered by death squads. And no one is allowed to talk about it.

There are five main taboos in Turkish society and Kurdish oppression is one of them. The others are the Armenian genocide, when more than a million Armenians were killed between 1915 and the establishment of the modern Turkish state in 1923; the military; Sharia law, which the government of this predominantly Muslim country does not wish discussed because it is determined to keep the state secular; and lastly, defaming the name of Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish state. His portrait can still be seen in shops and offices all over the country, although he died in 1938.

[ . . . ]

For dissidents such as Zarakolu, struggle has been a way of life. Born in 1948, he was inflamed by Sixties hippy culture, by the idea of revolution and the protest songs of Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. Unlike the radicals of the west, his belief in the revolution was tested. He was first sent to prison in 1971 for belonging to a suspicious organisation – Amnesty International.

He and Ayse set up Belge in 1977 and continued to publish in the face of further imprisonment, the torture of Ayse and the firebombing of their premises by a right-wing group. "If you accept this is a struggle for the truth and for freedom of expression, it helps for me to try and remember what we went through in the past," he says.

"Sometimes we went in prison, sometimes we used the trial as a platform, sometimes we felt ourselves to be the prosecutors against the system. We try to force our society to face its history. Without this hardship we can't change society. Somebody must pay the bill."

He has been paying the bill for 30 years. Even on the day he buried his wife – Ayse died of cancer in 2002 – the Turkish authorities couldn't leave Zarakolu and his family alone. As Ayse's coffin was carried to the grave by eight Kurdish women, they were watching. As her son Deniz rose to make an emotional speech about his mother's work on behalf of the Kurds, they were watching. They waited the 40 days of mourning that is traditional in Turkey and then arrested Deniz for questioning by the anti-terror team.

"Normally humanity respects death," says Zarakolu. "This was a psychological problem for me, something like torture, because it's very aggressive. It's the unrespectfulness against the funeral, against the truth."

It took a change in the laws for Deniz to be acquitted. The charge? He had dared to suggest that Turkey's oppressed Kurdish minority might one day have an independent life. "I think Kurdish women will be free some day," he said. "And they will not forget my mother."

Six years on, the Kurds have still not forgotten Ayse and how she fought for them. In one town in the Kurdish region of Turkey, they wanted to name a public park after her but the authorities refused, saying she was a convicted criminal.

[ . . . ]

On April 8 Zarakolu faces what is expected to be his last trial, the culmination of a four-year process that began in 2004. It is presented by the Turkish courts as the scrupulous and thorough pursuit of justice, but to even the most casual observer it looks like judicial harassment. I ask Zarakolu if he is afraid of going to jail. It would, after all, be easy for him to stay in the United States with Katherine. He's almost 60 now, not an age to be contemplating going back behind bars. "Generally I forget," he says. "But sometimes I feel tired – exhausted. It's another way of oppression."

There's much more there, and Ragıp (and his late wife Ayşenur) are among the few, true heroes of Turkey, so take the time to read the whole thing.

Forty Kurdish women were arrested in Belgium on Friday, suspected of being hevals. So much for the EU, The List, and PKK. If the EU really wanted to crack down on terrorism, it should probably raid every Turkish embassy and consulate in its jurisdiction . . .

Did you ever wonder why the conflict of interest over Joseph Ralston's appointment as "PKK coordinator" never caused the scandal it should have? Wonder no longer:

Members of Congress have as much as $196 million collectively invested in companies doing business with the Defense Department, earning millions since the onset of the Iraq war, according to a study by a nonpartisan research group.

Not all the companies in which lawmakers invested are typical defense contractors. Corporations such as PepsiCo, IBM, Microsoft and Johnson & Johnson have at one point received defense-related contracts, notes the report by the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics.

The center's review of lawmakers' 2006 financial disclosure statements suggests that members' holdings could pose a conflict of interest as they decide the fate of Iraq war spending. Several members earning money from these contractors have plum committee or leadership assignments, including Democratic Sen. John Kerry, independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman and House Republican Whip Roy Blunt.

The study found that more Republicans than Democrats hold stock in defense companies, but that the Democrats who are invested had significantly more money at stake. In 2006, for example, Democrats held at least $3.7 million in military-related investments, compared to Republican investments of $577,500.

Overall, 151 members hold investments worth $78.7 million to $195.5 million in companies that receive defense contracts that are worth at least $5 million. These investments earned them anywhere between $15.8 million and $62 million between 2004 and 2006, the center concludes.

A look at a few individual invertebrates:

Kerry, D-Mass., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is identified as earning the most — at least $2.6 million between 2004 and 2006 from investments worth up to $38.2 million.

Spokesman David Wade said Kerry, who staunchly opposes the war in Iraq, is one of many beneficiaries of family trusts that he doesn't control. Wade also noted that Kerry does not sit on the Appropriations Committee, which has direct control of the defense budget.

"He has a 24-year Senate record of working and voting in the best interests of our men and women in the military, not of any defense contractors," Wade said.

It's impossible to believe that this dirtball, Kerry, "staunchly opposes the war in Iraq," since that war has enriched him, and I don't give a damn what kind of lies his spokesman tells the public.

Here's another:

Lieberman, I-Conn., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and a member of the Armed Services Committee, held a considerably smaller share at $51,000. A spokesman said the senator, who supports continued operations in Iraq, is "careful to make his policy decisions based only on what is best for the country."

Oh, I know I believe him. One more:

A spokesman for Blunt, R-Mo., a senior member of House GOP leadership who held at least $15,000 in Lockheed Martin stock in 2006, said the insinuation that lawmakers' votes might be affected by their portfolios is "offensive." Like Lieberman, Blunt has been a fierce supporter of the war.

"I don't pretend to speak for other offices, but I am fairly certain that no member would consider their personal finances when voting on issues as important as sending our men and women in uniform into harm's way," said Blunt spokesman Nick Simpson. The Lockheed Martin stock was given to Blunt's wife by her mother, he said.

Ah, here's the old "my-wife's-mother-gave-her-the-stock" story. Actually, what is truly offensive is that Congress is, in fact, benefiting not only from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also on their phony Global War On Terror, Incorporated. And that's why there will be absolutely no change on the global status quo when a new administration takes over in January 2009.

Here's something you probably won't see too much of, although it's definitely something to watch for:

A report warns of Saudi Arabia and Turkey possibly joining in a nuclear arms race.

The report says the Saudis would most likely develop nuclear weapons if Iran acquires them. High-level American diplomats in Riyadh say an Iranian nuclear weapon frightens the Saudis "to their core."

The report to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee also says Turkey would come under pressure to follow suit if Iran builds nuclear weapons. It says while Turkey doesn't see Iran as an enemy, it also believes a power balance between the countries is the primary reason for a peaceful relationship between them.

The report was prepared by a committee staff member after interviewing hundreds of individuals in Washington and the Middle East last year.

I don't believe the "follow suit under pressure" nonsense. I suspect Turkey's been wanting to be a nuclear player for some time. After all, they did buy all those nuclear secrets from Marc Grossman et al, and nobody paid attention to that. Isn't Grossman still walking around a free man?

Turkey with nuclear weapons . . . what could be more scary?

A COURAGEOUS TURK AND 12 ŞEHÎDS

"The Security organs of the State are buttressing the Gray Wolves and through the tolerance of the government, army and bureaucracy, fascism has been growing in Turkey in the last thirty years. Otherwise, how could in our days three million Kurds be uprooted with such ease from their homes and villages and be deported? We have to learn from history and avoid denying the past tragedies, which should cause shame in us. Otherwise, history is bound to repeat itself."
~ Ragip Zarakolu, Ulkede Gundem, 1997.

The recent murders of Christian publishers in Malatya are examples of the extreme forms of censorship to which the Turkish state has had recourse throughout its history, particularly since the September 12 coup. In light of this tradition of extreme censorship, it might be appropriate to discuss another publisher and his battles with the Ankara regime.

Ragip Zarakolu is one of those brave and noble Turks who has stood for justice since 1968 when he began writing. With the military coup of 1971, he began his long history of persecution by the Turkish state. At that time, he was tried and imprisoned for having "secret" relations with that well-known subversive organization, Amnesty International.

With his wife Aysenur Zarakolu, he founded Belge Publishing House in 1977. Together with Aysenur, through Belge, he published writings that other publishing houses would not have touched with the proverbial ten-foot pole, especially after the September 12 coup, writings about minorities in Turkey, the Armenian Genocide, the Kurdish situation, and the impunity of the state in its terrorism against the people. In 1986, he joined with others as one of the founding members of the Human Rights Association (IHD), which has had a number of incredibly courageous human beings associated with it such as Akin Birdal, Eren Keskin, and Osman Baydemir.

[Note: Sadly, Aysenur Zarakolu, a lion in her own right for justice and freedom, passed away in early 2002 from cancer. She should be remembered as the freedom-fighter she was.]

For more on Ragip's life, check American PEN, English PEN, and Wikipedia, at least for the moment.

Ragip has also been closely associated with Ozgur Gundem for many years. In this regard, Ragip has the following to say (from Peace in Kurdistan Campaign):

From: rzarakolu@XXXXX.com
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 13:02:35 -0400

Subject: my newspaper were closed

Dear Friends,

Kurdish and oposition press went under the pressures of militarism in Turkey. Newspapers were closed, editors were arrested.

I am writing for 16 years for Kurdish newspaper Ozgur Gundem (Free Agenda) for human and minority rights, Armenian Genocide, inpunity of the state and freedom of expression.

I could not write any more during last 2 months because of bannings and closures. It is sad, because I could write there under the de facto war conditions after 1991.

Ozgur Gundem is the first newspaper, which dared to speak about Armenian Genocide, every 24th April, during last 10 years.

This year I prepared a serie "Armenian Genocide in German Documents, around Trabizond Region" for Ozgur Gundem, in memoriam Hirant Dink. Now I don't know where I can give it.

Now I lost my newspaper. And I am at the black list of Turkish main stream media, because I wrote on minorities, Armenian Genocide and Kurdish question.

Yours

Ragip Zarakolu

An attachment to the email describes the situation of Ozgur Gundem, and other newspapers in Turkey, today:

Newspapers' Situation in Turkey


It is known that freedom of press, which is one of the indispensable indications of democracy, has a close relationship with freedom of thought/expression as well as right to get news. It is an undeniable reality that implementation level of freedom of press, which has formed its universal principles through years, represents level of freedom in a country. In this context, policies within "security" perspectives, prohibitions (embargo) of publications, pressures/interventions within different levels, legal arrangements that make these interventions, which have been implemented during recent months, easier against newspapers in Turkey should be discussed. All of these interventions cause anti-democratic results. Indeed, serious violations against freedom of press and thought still continue in Turkey.

Number of publications, which subjected to decisions that restrict thought/expression and violate right to get news-information, are higher than past. Such a panorama is the Turkey's shame for democracy. In this respect implementations against Gündem (Agenda) Newspaper, during the last, month are enough to describe to the situation of newspapers in Turkey.

In its fifth day our newspaper, which started on 17th January 2007, was suspended for one month. There are 10 court cases and against the newspaper. Moreover; there are investigations against its 30 issues. After one month suspension, the newspaper restarted to publish, however; just after two days the newspaper was suspended once again for one month. All of these incidents are little samples of serious situation of newspaper in Turkey. Violation of freedom of press, which is sine qua non condition of sustainability of democratic life, through these open and absolute censorships implementations is shelving the projects in democracy process. Political character of legal grounds harms independent law mentality that based on rights and freedoms.

The summary table, which represents censorships-pressures even suspensions against Gündem and other newspapers have similar publishing policy, is enough to realize the situation clearly. Other newspapers, which subjected to pressures and censorships in recent months are the following; Yaşamda Gündem (Agenda in the Life), Güncel (The Temporary) and Azadiya Welat (Free Country).

Gündem Newspaper is suspended for one month

06.03.2007

Gündem Newspaper is suspended for one month by two separate decisions by the 13th Heavy Penal Court of Istanbul. The court reviews the application by Deputy-President of Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and decides for one month suspension in accordance with Law on Press numbered 5287 and its article 25. The court shows the news, on 2nd March 2007, about poisoning of Ocalan as reason of the sentence. In its second decision of sentence; the court decides sentence to suspension, once again, for one month in accordance with Law on Press numbered 5287 and its article 25. The court shows the newspaper's issue dated 5th March 2007 as reason for sentence. Therefore; the same court gives two separate suspension sentences by showing the same law as reason in one day. In its decision statement, the court makes a political comment as the following: "in order to keep sustainability of democratic life in the society, intervention becomes necessary".

Gündem Newspaper is closed once again

09th April 2007

Gündem Newspaper, which was closed by 13th Heavy Penal Court of Istanbul for one month by its decision dated 6th March 2007, restarted to publishing on 7th April 2007. However, Gündem Newspaper was closed, at this time by 11th Heavy Penal Court of Istanbul, just after two days for 15 days. The Court shows almost every news, some advertisements and articles, which published on the issues dated 7th and 8th April 2007, as reasons for the closure decision. Advertisements, which published by Gündem Newspaper in the issued date 07th April 2007, on commemoration and marching to Amara (village of Abdullah Ocalan), to celebrate the birthday of Abdullah Ocalan, are some of the reasons for closure that given by 11th Heavy Penal Court of Istanbul. Moreover; the news (again in the same issue 7th April 2007), which is statements by Ocalan, who made them in the meeting with his lawyer in Imrali Prison, are considered as "propaganda of PKK/Kongra Gel". Another reason for closure decision belongs to the news, of Newspaper's issue dated 8th April 2007, which is the continuation of Ocalan's statement. In the same issue Ali Haydar Kaytan's article, whose title is "barışa götürecek yol" (path that will bring peace), is showed another reason for closure. The court shows also commemoration advertisements as reasons for closure. The court, in accordance with numbered 5187 Press Law and its article 25/2, decides to confiscation and prohibition of selling/distribution of Gündem Newspaper's issued dated 7th-8th April 2007. Moreover; the court, in accordance with numbered 3713 The Prevention of Terrorism Act and its article 6/the last one, decided to suspension of Gündem Newspaper for 15 days, which begins at the 08.04.2007.


Immediate Censorship against Yaşamda Gündem (Agenda in the Life)

Mr. Zekeriya Ay, Public Prosecutor of Istanbul, orders confiscation for Yaşamda Gündem, which starts on 9th March 2007, issue dated 9th March 2007 (the day when it starts) to Istanbul Security Directorate on Security Unit (İstanbul Emniyeti Güvenlik Şube Müdürlüğü). Prosecutor Mr. Ay violates law by making decision to confiscation even the unpublished issues of the newspaper. The prosecutor makes decision arguing that Yaşamda Gündem Newspaper is the continuation Gündem Newspaper, which was suspended for one month at the 6th March 2007. Mr. Özcan Kılıç, lawyer of the newspaper, considers the implementation that based on arbitrary interpretation-thoughts as an "open censorship" and appeals the decision. Mr. Ahmet Abakay, President of Contemporary Journalists' Association (Çağdaş Gazeteciler Derneği) underlines the decision is contrary to national and international arrangements. Mr. Abakay states "the decision is shame of Turkey".

Distribution Censorship against Güncel (the Temporary) Newspaper by Merkez Distribution Company

22.03.2007

Merkez Distribution Company, which is one of the big newspaper distribution companies, announces that it will not distribute the Güncel Newspaper, which starts on 19th March 2007, and Azadiya Welat the only Kurdish daily Newspaper in Turkey. Merkez Distribution Company stops the distribution, which continues for 7 months, on 21st March 20007 and requests information from Security General Directorate about distribution of Güncel Newspaper. The Company authorities announce that they will not distribute the newspaper till they get response from the Security General Directorate. It is argued that Security General Directorate orders not to distribute newspapers, which publish news related with Kurds. Çağdaş Gazeteciler Derneği (Contemporary Journalists' Association) considers 'censorship of distribution', which implemented by Merkez Distribution, as "an indication of police state mentality's placement into institutions".

15 Days Suspension against Güncel (Temporary) Newspaper

30.03.2007

Güncel Newspaper, which started on 19th March 2007 and was not distributed by the distribution company, published just during 12 days. The 13th Heavy Penal Court of Istanbul sentenced to Güncel (Temporary) Newspaper for 15 days suspension that started at the 30th March 20007. The sentence is given in accordance with TCK (Turkish Penal Code) 215 and 3713 articles. "Propaganda of organization" is showed as the reason of the sentence.

Azadiya Welat is sentenced to suspension for 20 days

23.03.2007

Azadiya Welat Newspaper, which is the only Kurdish daily newspaper in Turkey, is sentenced to suspension after its distribution was blocked. The 5th Heavy Penal Court of Diyarbakir sentences Azadiya Welat Newspaper to suspension for 20 days. The sentence is given in accordance with the Prevention of Terrorism Act numbered 3713 and its article 6. and the paragraph 5; "making propaganda of organization".

Attachment 2: General brief about implementations of censorships-pressures that Gündem Newspaper and other similar newspapers have faced during the 17 years and also samples of double standards against these newspapers.


TRADITION OF GUNDEM (AGENDA) NEWSPAPER: 17 NEWSPAPERS DURING 17 YEARS


Tradition of Gundem Newspaper, which decides/adopts its publishing policy as opposition and free newspaper process, has established 17 newspapers for 17 years. This tradition gives voice to an important witness through openly publishing realities of Turkey and in terms of freedom of the press/expression; represents an important historical period because of the pressures that faced. All of the 17 newspapers has faced suspensions, seize, confiscations, censorships and some similar pressures and also many of its employees have been killed during this 17 years period. Such practises are often seen during 1990s, however; we can argue the circumstances are same in the March of 2007. Actually; there is no during these long years. From 1st to 31st March the publications of Gündem (Agenda), Yaşamda Gündem (Agenda in the Life), Güncel (the Contemporary) and Azadiya Welat (Free Country) were suspended, many court cases opened against them and their distribution were blocked.

As Apê Musa, who is one of the veterans of the tradition and killed in this difficult struggle, says that Gundem tradition continues to become witness and accused of Turkey.

Tradition of Gundem starts with Halk Gerçeği (Truth of People) and Yeni Ülke (New Country), which are weekly magazines, in 1990s that armed conflict also on the increase. Publishing policy of Gundem is built up to decipher of pressures by the Turkish State, extrajudicial killings, burning of villages, similar human rights violations and to defend the democratic solution of Kurdish problem. Actually, in 1990s anybody could not dare to reveal these pressures by the State.

Pressures against Gundem Newspaper, which is the voice of opposite groups, also occurs just after the a few issues of the first newspaper of Gundem tradition. It can be said that murder of Cengiz Altun, correspondent of Yeni Ülke (New Country), is the starting point of pressures. Yeni Ülke is one of the important components (newspaper) of Gundem tradition. 26 correspondents, journalists and distributors, who work for the newspapers of Gundem tradition, are murdered in the period of 1990-1995.

Bomb attack to the Newspaper


Pressure policy against Gundem tradition becomes serious, intense between 1992 and 1995. During this period newspapers and magazines are seized, offices are raided; employees are taken into custody, subjected to torture and arrested. According to indefinite numbers just during this period; DGMs (State Security Court) make decisions to seize 443 publishing issues and to close down of 67 publications. Some of the newspapers, which are closed down by DGM, are; Özgür Gündem (Free Agenda), Özgür Ülke (Free Country), Yeni Politika (New Politics), Demokrasi (Democracy) and Ülkede Gündem (Agenda in the Country). Moreover; the main centre in Istanbul and two offices of Özgür Ülke, which is subjected to the most serious pressures are bombed, on 4th December 1994, by the command of Ms. Tansu Çiller that is the Prime Minister of the period.

Censorships of Page(s) in 1995


The publishing of the Newspapers cannot be blocked despite the all of pressures. Then censorship is applied to newspapers, subsequently; the newspapers are published with censored pages. Yeni Politika, which starts on 13th April 1995, has to publish its news, articles, photos, advertisements and caricatures with writing "It is censored" because of the censorships by public prosecutors of DGM.

Daily censorships starts

Ülkede Gündem, which starts on 7th July 1997, is also subjected to censorships applications. During the period, on which the newspaper is published its 57 correspondents and 10 distributors are taken into custody and subjected to torture. 278 court cases are opened against the newspaper and sentenced to suspension for 302 days. The newspaper's 125 news, 63 articles, 9 photos and 14 advertisements are censored. At the end, Ülkede Gündem is closed down by DGM decision on 23rd October 1998.

Prohibition of OHAL (Emergency State Governorship)

As its predecessors; entrance of Özgür Bakış (Free View), which starts on 18th April 1999, to OHAL region is prohibited. Confiscation decision is made against 22 issues of total 93 issues of Özgür Bakış newspaper. There are also many court cases against the newspaper. Moreover; arrest decision is given against the newspaper's editor, whose name is Hasan Deniz, on 4th June 1999. The editor is charged with the article 169 that is about "assisting and supporting an organization". Tradition of free newspaper continues with Yeni Gündem (New Agenda) in 2000. As a result of pressures, confiscations and OHAL prohibitions; this newspaper is closed down in 2001.

List of the newspapers, which established after Yeni Gündem, are in the following:


Yedinci Gündem (Seventh Agenda): Yedinci Gündem is published weekly between 23rd June 2001 and 30th August 2002. Newspaper's entrance to OHAL region is prohibited. It has 60 issues. The newspaper is sentenced to suspension for 15 days and its responsible editor is sentenced to money penalty whose amount is over 6 billions TL in total.

Yeniden Özgür Gündem (Free Agenda once Again): It starts on 2nd September 2002 and ends 28th February 2004. The newspaper is sentenced to suspension for 4 days during its 545 days period. Its editor is sentenced to imprisonment for 25 months and its license holder is sentenced to money penalty whose amount is 478 billions TL. There are 315 court cases against the newspaper.

Record numbers of court files

Ülkede Özgür Gündem (Free Agenda in the Country): The newspaper starts on 1st March 2004 and ends 16th November 2006. There are over 600 court cases against its responsible editor, some journalists and correspondents grounding different reasons. In total 102 resulted court cases that resulted in sentence; totally 344.964 YTL money penalty is given and Hasan Bayar, who is responsible editor, is sentenced to 15 years-11 months-10 days imprisonment. It is interesting that the second suspension decision, against Ülkede Özgür Gündem, is made 6 days later after Staff of General Yaşar Büyükanıt's statement: "its publications should not be permitted". Lastly, 120.000 YTL money penalties are given against Ülkede Özgür Gündem and Toplumsal Demokrasi (Social Democracy) under the 4 different courts of files. Moreover; Özlem Aktan, who is the responsible editor of Ülkede Özgür Gündem, is sentenced to one year imprisonment.

Toplumsal Demokrasi: the newspaper starts after Ülkede Özgür Gündem, which is sentenced to suspension, on 8th August 2006. After a short period Toplumsal Demokrasi stops its publication and restarts on 16th November 2007. At this time, Toplumsal Demokrasi is published for two months and during this short period there are many court cases against the newspaper. Toplumsal Demokrasi closes down itself on 5th January 2007.

Gündem (Agenda): It starts on 17th January 2007 and is published for 50 days. Gündem is suspended for a month on 6th March 2007. The suspension decision is given grounding news on poisoning Ocalan. Court give two different decisions for one month suspension in the same day. Actually, the two decisions on the same issue by the same court is considered as law scandal. There are also many investigations and court cases against the newspapers.
Yaşamda Gündem (Agenda in the life): It starts on 9th March 2007 but is published only for 3 days. Yaşamda Gündem is confiscated grounding that it is the continuation of Gündem newspaper. Actually, the confiscation decision is the one that has never seen. In accordance with censorship; it is decided that Yaşamda Gündem's probable forthcoming issues also will be confiscated.

Güncel (Contemporary): It starts on 19th March 2007 and is published for 12 days. Güncel is sentenced to suspension for 15 days. There is a new point in this suspension sentence. In the context of suspension the statement "Leader of Kurdish People" is regarded as crime however it is not regarded as crime until that time.

WHEN GÜNDEM is PUBLISHED CENSORSHIP is APPLIED


The newspapers, which are the successors of Gundem tradition that starts in 1990s, break grounds in the field of news. All methods are practiced to stop these newspapers. The newspapers, which are targeted by the army or the government authorities, are subjected to double standards as well as censorships.

* In a panel; Umur Talu, who is the journalist of Sabah Newspaper, states that his articles might be reason for closing down if he writes in Gündem, but; it is not problem since he writes in Sabah newspaper.

* In 19th July 2005; İlker Başbuğ, Vice-president of General Staff, targeted Ülkede Özgür Gündem Newspaper in a 3 hours briefing to the journalists that shape Turkish media.

* 10th November; Yaşar Büyükanıt, President of General Staff, implying with Ülkede Özgür Gündem states that "PKK's Daily Newpapers are being published. These should not be permitted". After the 6 days; the newspaper is sentenced to suspension for 15 days.

* 11th June 2006; In his speech at the General Assembly of Gazeteciler Cemiyeti (Union of Journalists) Cemil Çiçek, Minister of Justice, targeted openly Ülkede Özgür Gündem. Cemil Çiçek says "This newspaper should be stopped" with identifying the newspaper as "paper rag".

* There is decision, which states publishing statements of Murat Karayılan Executive Committee President of KKK (Democratic Confederation of Kurdistan) as news is not a crime, by ECHR and there is a sentence against Turkey regarding with this issue. On the other hand; courts continue practises that are contrary to the decision ECHR. In the court cases, which opened because of the statements by Murat Karayılan, license holder and editor of Ülkede Özgür Gündem and Toplumsal Demokrasi is sentenced to money penalties whose amounts are 120.000 YTL. In this context; the responsible editor is sentenced to one year heavy imprisonment.

* Ülkede Özgür Gündem newspaper makes speech of Mehmet Ağar Leader of DYP (True Path Party) headlines of the newspaper. Mehmet Ağar makes his speech at Habertürk TV on 13th November 2006. Although there is not any process against the TV Channel, the speech is used as reason for 15 days suspension of Ülkede Özgür Gündem.

* 30 October 2006; Ülkede Özgür Gündem newspaper publishes news, whose title is "Life story of a Swiss guerrilla is being recorded as documentary". The same news is published with the same photo under the title of "A Swiss in the PKK's Camps". Ülkede Özgür Gündem newspaper is sentenced to suspension for 15 days grounding the news, though there is not any court cases against the Hürriyet newspaper.

* Nokta, a weekly magazine, publishes news about newspapers that belong to Gündem tradition. After Güncel newspaper uses the news, an investigation is opened against the newspaper.

* In 1995 ANKA news agency makes news the interview of Ocalan to Med TV. Yeni Politika (New Politics) newspaper is subjected to censorship since it publishes the mentioned news by ANKA. The newspaper reveals the double standard with the title of "Special Censor against our Newspaper" in its issue of 23rd April 1995.

* Cumhuriyet (Republic) Newspaper publishes news under the title "Kurdistan Parliament Condemns" in its issue of 15th April 1995 and there is no process against the newspaper. After one day; Yeni Politika publishes the same news as Cumhuriyet publishes, but the former is confiscated. The newspaper reveals this situation under the headline "Scandal".

* A confiscation decision is made against Yeni Politika newspaper since it publishes news under the title "Pope said dialogue" in 18th April 1995. On the other hand; there are no process against Hürriyet (Freedom) and Milliyet (Nationality) newspapers, which publish the same news under the title "Pray for Kurds by Pope" (Hürriyet) and "Call for Kurds by Pope" (Milliyet).

* Yeni Politika newspaper is confiscated because of its news that is taken from BBC and whose title is "Complete Support for Kurds by Kaddafi". The same news are used also by many other newspapers.

* Yeni Politika newspaper is confiscated since the newspaper publishes an article by Ahmet Altan. The title of the article is "Atakürt" and published by Milliyet a few days ago.

* Yeni Politika newspaper is confiscated since it publishes news, which is done by Reuters, under the title "Call for interview by PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan to Germany".

* Censorships against the newspapers are practiced also in distribution. Distribution companies that are not willing to distribute newspapers, which belong to Gundem tradition, are lastly seen in their attitudes against Güncel newspaper that starts on 19th March 2007. Merkez Dağıtım, which belongs to Sabah Group, states that it will distribute Günceş newspaper in accordance with the permission, which it gets from General Directorate of Security, otherwise it will not distribute the newspaper. Actually such a decision does not have any legal grounds. Then, the distribution decides not to distribute Güncel Newspaper.

So, now you know which newspapers have a history of speaking the truth. You might want to think about that the next time you go searching for news.

By the way, Ozgur Gundem has a list and photos of HPG's şehîds from this past week during TSK's operations in Dersim and Şirnex.

Şehîd namirin!

RAGIP ZARAKOGLU AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN TURKEY

Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
Press Statement

17 April 2007

Ragip Zarakoglu and Freedom of Expression in Turkey

We are profoundly concerned about the intolerable restrictions on the press in Turkey which have worsened considerably under the impact of the new anti-terrorism law; in particular an effective ban on the reporting of taboo subjects such as the Armenian Genocide, the Kurdish question and the treatment of minorities. Newspapers are being closed, editors arrested and a blacklist of awkward voices is preventing journalists with long and distinguished records from working in Turkey today. An atmosphere of coercion and intimidation of journalists is prevailing in the country and we need only refer to the assassination on 19 January of Hrant Dink, whose circumstances still await a full investigation.


In this respect, we wish to draw your attention to the plight of Ragip Zarakoglu, writer and owner of Belge Publishing House, one such victim of the new repression: he has been writing for 16 years for the newspaper Ozgur Gundem (Free Agenda) on human and minority rights, but finds himself today unable to express his views in print freely under the new restrictions.


This lamentable situation is surely not what should be expected of a country that is allegedly attempting to democratise itself and abide by European and international conventions pertaining to human rights and rights of free expression and association.


We call on the British Government and the EU to urgently take this matter up with the Turkish authorities during the EU accession process and to insist that the Turkish authorities comply fully with European standards and conventions ratified by Turkey.



Peace in Kurdistan Campaign
For information contact:
Estella24@tiscali.co.uk
Tel 020 7586 5892