Not So Bright for Freedom of Expression
According to a report in the Bizim Gazete newspaper, Selcuk told a conference on "Democracy and Law in Turkey" held in Ankara that there were problems in the Turkish democracy while the country itself, was "the first country to come to mind when torture is mentioned among European Union (EU) member states".
Selcuk said this was not a favourable situation at all adding, "Turkey is the only country that has been sentenced by the European Court of Human Rights 11 times over in a single day on July 8, 1999 for violating the freedom of expressing opinion. Meanwhile, in 2005, of the 50 cases of freedom of expression violations brought before the European Court of Human Rights, 80% belong to Turkey".
True democracy or a dependent one?
Stressting that the way to overcome Turkey's problems with democracy was for those running the country and the people to decide whether they wanted a true democracy or "a cumbersome, reluctant and dependent" one instead, Selcuk said one of the most important problems in the country was that those governing had no confidence in the people and the people had no confidence in those governing them. He said that this crisis of confidence needed to be resolved.
Selcuk explained that another crisis in the Turkish democracy stemmed from the freedom of expression not fully being settled in the country and that arguments and debated ended up in fights.
Noting that the tradition of debate could not settle in a country where there was no freedom of expressing opinion, Selcuk added "It is not possible to develop the culture of debate and to enforce some of the dnamics that would stem from this culture in a country that does not accept that there will be as many [different] views as the number of people there are".
Most party closures in the EC
Selcuk said that Turkey had the highest rate of closures of political parties among European Council countries and that opinions that would be debated by the society were identified as dangerous before they were even discussed.
"There is no danger in thought. The danger is in the mind of the individual, his viewpoint. Turkey is in a crisis of enforcing ideological principles. For years there has been the Nazım Hikmet and Necip Fazil fight. When these can be brought together and debated, in such an atmosphere, Turkey will be a democrat country. Because democracy is not just for your views to be reflected to the outside world. It is for everyone" Selcuk said.
The Honorary President of the Court of Appeals concluded: "Both because there is little confidence in the people in Turkey and that the freedom of expression has not fully settled, the participating dimension of participant democracy is in danger. If we sincerely want democracy, people should not face the psychosis of being outcast. If this happens, the unity of the country will be endangered. Every voice should be in the country and everyone should be represented". (EO/II/YE)