Copies Of Daily Birgün Seized For Interviewing A Kurdish Workers Party Administrator
Istanbul’s 12th High Criminal Court seized the copies of daily Birgün for Hasan Tahmaz’s interview with Murat Karayılan, one of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) authorities.
The reason behind the seizing decision was based on interview’s “giving place to PKK explanations” under article 6/2 of the Law for Fight Against Terror (TMY). The title of the article that caused the seizing was “One Sided Ceasefire Makes The Problem Worse,” which appeared on August 9, 2008.
Birgün’s accusation: To give place to the explanations of a terrorist organization
In the interview, Karayılan says although the person on the street does not want violence anymore, they will continue with their activities of “legitimate defensive war”.
Contrary to the desires of the peace activists in Turkey, Karayılan does not speak promisingly for ending the problem, underlining that it was not easy for the PKK any longer to declare a one-sided ceasefire. He states in the interview that this would make the problem worse.
Karayılan: We want to do politics as PKK
Karayılan stated in the same interview that they did not want to have a separate state, they were on the mountains because the Kurdish problem was denied, the Democratic Society Party was an intermediate step for them, they wanted to do politics as PKK and they did not see any contradiction in going to continue with their “legitimate defensive war.”
The newspaper was seized by the decision of Judge Necdet Ede of Istanbul’s 12th High Criminal Court on August 10.
It is not clear yet if a lawsuit will be filed against the newspaper, but according to article 6 of the TMY, those who publish the explanations or the announcements of terrorist organizations receive prison sentence from one to three years.
Istanbul’s Beyoğlu Chief Prosecutor had seized daily Birgün before, on December 29, 2005, for a news report about the Egyptian Bazaar case. (EÖ/EZÖ/TB)