H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
Basbakanlik
Bakanliklar
06573 Ankara
Republic of Turkey
Fax: (011.90.312) 417-0476
Your Excellency:
The brutal murder of Hrant Dink, founder and editor of the Turkish-Armenian weekly, Agos, has inspired a rare spirit of unity among Turks and Armenians, who recognize the waste and tragedy of his killing and have a new appreciation of the principles he fought for.
As Archbishop Mesrob Mutafyan, the Armenian patriarch in Istanbul, said at Mr. Dink@quot;s funeral, “It is unacceptable to judge and imprison someone because of his thoughts, let alone to kill him.” But Mr. Dink himself, along with the illustrious novelist, Orhan Pamuk, and countless others, had been convicted under your country@quot;s notorious Article 301, which criminalizes “insulting Turkishness.” Their supposed insult to the nation consisted of classifying the massacre of Armenians by Turks in 1915 as genocide — a verdict that, if debatable, should be debated freely. And at the time of his death, Mr. Dink was facing prosecution for having written yet another article that merely protested his conviction. Turkish prosecutors condemned the article as an attempt to influence the administration of justice. It is surely unjust to forbid anyone to maintain innocence when accused of a crime.
The Overseas Press Club of America, an independent organization that has been defending press freedom for more than 65 years, hopes that your government will conduct a thorough investigation of this crime, especially the question whether the young man accused as the killer, Ogun Samast, was part of a wider conspiracy.
But we also hope that you will use your personal prestige and authority to back the repeal of Article 301. As you know, its existence is a principal barrier to Turkey@quot;s admission to the European Union. More important, this law is simply wrong. It is a violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which says in part, “Everyone has the right . . . to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” This principle is one of the bedrocks of freedom and democracy — which is why it is so often attacked, and needs constant defense by free people everywhere.
The repeal of Article 301 would be a fitting tribute to Hrant Dink, whose death would not be entirely in vain if it helped to end the instrument of his persecution.
On the same principle, Your Excellency, we urge you to do everything in your power to quash the charges of criminal defamation recently brought against Dogan Harman, publisher and editor-in-chief of the daily, Kibrisli, in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, for allegedly insulting the honor of Akin Sait, the republic@quot;s attorney general. As the world@quot;s leading courts have made clear, the criminalization of defamation is not legitimate, since there are adequate remedies under civil law.
Thank you for your attention. We hope you will reply.
Respectfully yours,
Larry Martz Kevin McDermott
Co-chairmen, Freedom of the Press Committee
cc:
H.E. Ahmet Necdet Sezer
President
Office of the President
Cumhurbaskanlugu kosku
Cankaya
06100 Ankara
Republic of Turkey
Fax: (011.90.312) 468-5026
Ambassador Baki Ilkin Editor
Permanent Representative Hurriyet
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Turkey editor@hurriyetim.com.tr
821 United Nations Plaza, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10017 Editor
Fax: (212) 949-0086 Sabah
editor@sabah.com.tr
Nabi Sensoy
Ambassador of Turkey to the U.S.A. Editor
Embassy of the Republic of Turkey Cumhuriyet
2525 Massachusetts Avenue, NW editor@cumhuriyet.com.tr
Washington, DC 20008
Fax: (202) 612-6744
Ross Wilson
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey
Embassy of the United States of America
Ataturk Bulvari 110
Kavaklidere, APO/FPO
Turkey
(OR: U.S. Embassy – Turkey
PSC 93 Box 5000
APO, AE 09823-5000)
Fax: (011.90.312) 467-2532