"You Will not Hear if You do not Want to Listen"

State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç said in a statement about journalists in prison, "The demand to amend the TMK [Anti-Terror Law] was not made in a loud voice. I want this to be mentioned in the statements of the professional organizations".

The General Chairmen of the Contemporary Journalists Association, Ahmet Abakay, told bianet on the other hand that they had called for the abolishment of the TMK as a whole dozens of times.

Minister Arınç spoke on the occasion of the 91^st anniversary of the Prime Ministry General Directorate of Press, Publication and Information held at the Prime Ministerial Office at Dolmabahçe Palace (Istanbul) on Friday night (9 September). The event also included the prize giving ceremony of the "Anatolian Press Encouragement Competition". Arınç made announcements on the Turkish Criminal Code (TCK) and the Anti-Terror Law (TMK).

The minister said about journalists in prison, "Do we have a free press or not? What are the conditions for a free press? Why are journalists in prison? Why are journalists being interrogated? These issues have to be discussed. They are bleak topics". Arınç pointed out that journalists should never be arrested while doing their job and that they should not be interrogated.

'So what about the contents?'

"Having said this, you might ask 'So what about the contents'? The issue of content is controversial. We definitely have to improve the TCK. We are prepared for that", Arınç continued.

"More than 60 people who wrote that they carry out the profession of a 'journalist' are currently imprisoned. 95 percent of them are charged with terror crimes. If they say 'Amendments of the TCK are not sufficient, we actually want an amendment of the TMK', they have not made this request with a loud voice until today. It was just whispered into our ears. The ones who are demanding this shall please tell us with a loud voice what needs to be changed in the TMK and which article restricts any freedoms for what reason".

"I want to see this in newspaper columns and in the speeches and reports of the presidents and executives of professional organizations. Does the TMK have to be amended? For what reasons should it be changed? I do not think they are doing their colleagues a favour by knocking the ball out of bounds or distorting the target when they say that 'journalists are in prison'".

"Should be abolished as a whole"

ÇGD General Chairman Abakay commented, "As the ÇGD we said this dozens of times. This means you do not hear anything if you do not want to listen. Arınç is talking as if he was in the opposition. However, they were the ones who exacerbated the provisions of the TMK in 2006. We have opposed the law ever since".

"In case he did not hear, I repeat it and I speak with a loud voice", Abakay emphasized and went on, "The TMK is a fascist law. It should be abolished entirely. There is no room for such a law in a democracy".

"Besides, there is no need for us to say this. If the power supports democracy, it will have to do these amendments on its own without waiting for anybody else to say so. 'Knocking the ball out of bounds' is not an expression to be used by a responsible minister. Only the opposition could say that since he is part of the executive authority himself. Both the authority and the ball are with him and nobody else can knock the ball out of bounds".

There are currently 64 journalists in Turkish prisons. 18 of them are convicted and 36 have trials pending against them. (AS/VK)