VZCZCXRO6303
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHAK #5711/01 2750943
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 020943Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9109
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKDAI/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J-3/J-5//
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEUITH/TLO ANKARA TU
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU//TCH//
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEHAK/USDAO ANKARA TU
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 005711 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/26/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM OSCE TU
SUBJECT: TURKISH GOVERNMENT FACING MOUNTING PRESSURE TO 
REVISE ARTICLE 301 
 
REF: ISTANBUL 1717 
 
Classified By: CDA Nancy McEldowney for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C)  Summary.  Pressure from the US, the EU, the Turkish 
press and several recent high profile cases is forcing the 
GOT to consider reform of controversial Penal Code Article 
301, which restricts free expression.  The ruling Justice and 
Development party (AKP) had hoped to avoid addressing the 
highly charged issue until after the 2007 elections.  But the 
beating Turkey's democratic image is taking for limiting free 
speech to protect "Turkishness" has pushed reform on to the 
public and poltical agenda, particularly in the lead-up to 
the November 8 release of the EU's progress report on 
Turkey's accession process. 
 
¶2. (C) Summary cont.  Despite PM Erdogan's public claims that 
the AKP is ready to tackle this thorny issue, the message 
we're hearing privately from senior administration officials 
is more cautious.  In separate meetings with the Deputy Prime 
Minister and at the MFA, the Ambassador and DCM each strongly 
urged the government to take action on Article 301 now and 
demonstrate Turkey's firm commitment to freedom of 
expression.  AKP assurances that Article 301 reform is on the 
agenda may be real, or just promises meant to defuse the 
issue prior to the PM's October 2 with President Bush.  They 
have not yet taken any concrete action, and have very little 
time to organize for what promises to be a tough fight 
against an opposition primed for battle.  We will continue to 
press the GOT to keep genuine reform of Article 301 on the 
agenda -- a message Erdogan should hear from Washington as 
well.  End summary. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Article 301:  Poisoning Turkey's Image 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U)  Article 301, which took effect in June 2005, states 
that "a person who explicitly insults being a Turk, the 
Republic, or Turkish Grand National Assembly, shall be given 
a penalty of imprisonment for a term of six months to three 
years."  Ultranationalists, such as attorney Kemal Kerincsiz, 
have exploited the provision to hinder free-speech on 
controversial topics such as Turkish-Armenian history, and to 
derail Turkey's EU bid.  Once a 301 case is filed, 
prosecutors are obligated to conduct a preliminary 
investigation before deciding to pursue a case.  The 
resulting high-profile investigations, which often do not 
lead to a full trial, have badly tarnished Turkey's 
democratic image internationally.  The negative reactions in 
western capitals to the article's clampdown on free 
expression have furthered the ultranationalist agenda of 
torpedoing further reforms linked to Turkey's EU membership 
bid. 
 
¶4. (U) The most recent case to set off the Article 301 reform 
debate was the September 21 acquittal of well-known author 
Elif Shafak for dialogue that allegedly insulted Turkishness 
in her latest novel (reftel).  In the most notorious case, 
novelist Orhan Pamuk was charged in June 2005 with "insulting 
Turkish identity" for his statement during an interview that 
1 million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds had been killed in 
Turkey.  The trial court ultimately dismissed the case on 
procedural grounds.  Other high-profile cases include the 
conviction and suspended 6-month sentence of publisher Hrant 
Dink (who was recently charged again under 301). 
 
¶5. (U) Although defendants in high-profile cases have often 
been acquitted or had their sentences suspended, many 
lesser-known writers have been convicted under the law. 
According to the Turkish Human Rights Association, 82 
writers, publishers, journalists, and intellectuals appeared 
in courts on charges related to freedom of expression (though 
not all were brought under Article 301) in the past year. 
The Human Rights Common Platform puts the number at 100. 
According to local press, 16 cases have resulted in 
conviction, 19 have resulted in acquittal, and 20 are 
ongoing.  Sentences have ranged from fines of approximately 
$3,000 USD to one year in prison. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Pressure to Reform Article 301 Builds 
 
ANKARA 00005711  002 OF 003 
 
 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The continuing use of Article 301 has raised serious 
doubts in Europe that Turkey is committed to freedom of 
expression. The EU Parliament, in its September 27 annual 
report on Turkey, called on Turkey to abolish or amend 
Article 301 and any other Penal Code provisions that allow 
for arbitrary interpretations by judges and prosecutors 
leading to judgments that suppress free expression and 
freedom of the press.  The report labeled these as threats to 
human rights and freedoms that negatively affect the progress 
of democracy.  Turkish-EU joint parliamentary committee 
chairman Joost Lagendijk recently told us that because 
Article 301 cases make the front pages of many European 
newspapers, they have a powerful effect on public opinion. 
"Article 301 cases remind me of Eastern Europe pre-1989," 
said Lagendijk. 
 
¶7. (U) During Elif Shafak's trial, editorials in nearly every 
major Turkish newspaper criticized the prosecutor's use of 
the article or called for outright repeal.  The quantity and 
content of these articles added to already strong pressure on 
the GOT from the U.S., the EU and international media to 
reform Article 301.  National daily Milliyet summed up the 
mood by questioning how any logical person could hold a 
writer accountable for a fictional character's words. 
Milliyet compared the use of Article 301 to a witch hunt, and 
said those who viewed Shafak's book as an insult to 
Turkishness were themselves insulting the Turkish nation. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
AKP Split on Tackling Article 301 Reform 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) At the highest level, AKP party and government 
officials appear to have recognized they can no longer delay 
on amending Article 301.  As the press began to question the 
AKP's commitment to EU membership because of its 
unwillingness to take action to protect free expression, PM 
Erdogan and FM Gul began to indicate amendments were 
possible.  Welcoming Elif Shafak's acquittal, Erdogan told 
the press, "This issue should be discussed with the 
government and the opposition....If there are proposals for 
making abstract things more concrete, we can ask our 
colleagues to work on it as we did in the past for other 
issues.  We are ready to do that anytime."  In a September 27 
meeting, MFA Deputy Undersecretary Ertugrul Apakan told the 
DCM that the PM decided with his cabinet ministers that they 
must tackle Article 301 now, before the EU Commission 
progress report is released November 8.  "We (GOT) will do 
it" (i.e. pass an amendment to the article), Apakan stated. 
AKP Whips Sabdullah Ergin and Salih Kapusuz, as well as AKP 
Vice Chair Dengir Mir Firat, also told us recently that the 
GOT is working on a way to amend the article. 
 
¶9. (C) Not everyone is onboard with the PM's action plan, 
however.  Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Sahin, who has 
steadfastly maintained that amending 301 is not on the AKP's 
agenda, told the Ambassador on September 27 that the 
government wants to allow the case law to develop on what he 
called a very new law.  Sahin claimed that prosecutors and 
judges are applying Article 301 with greater regard for free 
expression, and added that the Court of Appeals is preparing 
a common decision that would help standardize the article's 
enforcement. The Ambassador stressed that the Article 301 
cases are poisoning Turkey's image in the US and the 
international press.  He urged the government to take action 
soon to reverse this impression, at the very least by 
clarifying how it is to be applied.  Freedom of expression is 
a fundamental democratic principle that must be protected, he 
emphasized. 
 
¶10. (C) High-level Ministry of Justice officials echoed 
Sahin's lack of enthusiasm for reforming Article 301 any time 
soon.  Justice Minister Cemil Cicek continues to state 
publicly that the judiciary needs more time to interpret the 
law and establish judicial precedent.  Ministry of Justice 
Foreign Relations Director Aykut Kilic told us there is no 
legally valid reason to change the law before the Grand 
Chamber of the Supreme Court has an opportunity to interpret 
it.  Kilic accused the government of bowing to political 
pressure. 
 
ANKARA 00005711  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶11. (C) CHP deputies are not united on Article 301 either. 
Some acknowledge the difficulty of balancing freedom of 
expression and protection from insult, and might even 
acknowledge that 301 should be changed.  Others express 
contempt for defendants like Orhan Pamuk, who (one deputy 
claimed) "started it (sic) for the sake of being popular." 
The party,s education expert even suggested that the writers 
and intellectuals who support changes to articles like 301 
are being paid to do so.  While CHP may not have a clear line 
on 301, they are committed to opposing the AKP and, even by 
the admission of one CHP deputy, we can expect nothing 
constructive from that quarter. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Other Potential Roadblocks to Reforming Article 301 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶12. (C) Several other challenges stand in the way of any 
immediate attempt to amend Article 301.  AKP, along with 
opposition parties, is courting the nationalist vote as the 
2007 national election campaign gets underway.  Political 
opponents and ultranationalists are poised to attack reform 
attempts as efforts to weaken the state.  High-level AKP 
members seem to be moving carefully in the charged political 
atmosphere surrounding Article 301 reform demonstrate 
politicians' continued fear of alienating a substantial part 
of the electorate. 
 
¶13. (C) The AKP's must also overcome its own internal 
contradictions on the issue of free speech.  Prime Minister 
Erdogan was once jailed for reciting an Islamic poem.  The 
experience has led him to support those like-minded Turks 
who, for example, want to criticize the official ban on 
headscarves in universities.  But he has shown no tolerance 
for those who criticize him or his government, or who speak 
out on sensitive topics unrelated to Islam.  During the past 
year the Prime Minister's personal attorneys have filed 
dozens of such cases against those who have allegedly 
insulted him in written statements or political cartoons. 
Effective reform on free speech is unlikely absent an 
internal reckoning on the issue by the AKP. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶14. (C) Although steadily mounting pressure has caused PM 
Erdogan to face up to the need for Article 301 reform soon, 
it will take significant political capital to push through 
the kind of changes that will be needed.  With its 
substantial majority in parliament AKP has the votes, but it 
will take a disciplined campaign by Erdogan to muster the 
party unity required on an issue this sensitive domestically. 
 The CHP has made opposing the AKP its election strategy and 
is ready for a tough fight.  Even if Erdogan is sincere about 
reform, he may not have time to win the battle before the 
November 8 EU report.  His trip to Washington is another 
opportunity for him to hear that freedom of expression must 
remain a top priority if he wants to restore Turkey's 
international reputation as a thriving democracy. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
MCELDOWNEY