| Author (Person) | Beatty, Andrew |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.11, No.46, 21.12.05 |
| Publication Date | 21/12/2005 |
| Content Type | News |
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By Andrew Beatty Date: 22/12/05 Dutch MEP Joost Lagendijk is facing charges of insulting the Turkish army after comments he made about its behaviour in dealing with Kurdish armed groups in the south-east of the country. Turkish nationalists this week called for prosecutors to open a case against Lagendijk, aged 48, after the Green MEP accused the armed forces of deliberately escalating tensions in the Kurdish-dominated region, during an unscripted speech to Turkish Greens in Istanbul on Saturday (17 December). The request for prosecutors to investigate his comments was made by Kemal Kerincsiz, a member of the group known as the Association of Turkish Lawyers, which also initiated the case against author Orhan Pamuk. Both Pamuk and Lagendijk face allegations of "public denigration of Turkishness" under Article 301 of the Turkish penal code, an article used by nationalists in a raft of recent cases against Turkish journalists, which carries a maximum jail sentence of three years. Lagendijk, co-president of the Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission and a staunch supporter of Turkey's bid to become an EU member, was in Turkey to observe Pamuk's trial which began on Friday (16 December), but which has now been postponed. Ankara had faced a swathe of criticism from the EU over the case, with Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn claiming that it was Turkey rather than Pamuk which was on trial. Returning from Istanbul last night (20 December) Lagendijk said he had received no official confirmation of the investigation into his comments, but was aware that a request had been lodged with the prosecutors' office. Lagendijk said he would seek the advice of the Parliament's legal service to clarify if his Parliamentary immunity covered cases outside the EU and if he could return to Turkey. "I think it shows how wrong [Article] 301 is and how sensitive this issue is in Turkey," he said, insisting his comments were also a criticism of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, and a call for all parties to refrain from violence. "I am not denying anything, I think the army has provoked clashes in order to keep the upper hand in south-east Turkey and to make it difficult for the government to implement a non-violent strategy," he added. His comments come weeks after allegations that Turkish troops, masquerading as the PKK, bombed a bookshop in Hakkari province. "It is hard to image that there will be a court case, but I might be unlucky," said Lagendijk. According to Turkish media reports, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek criticised Lagendijk's comments as "incomplete and antagonistic information". |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Countries / Regions | Turkey |
