Önderoğlu: Judicial Pressure Equals Pressure on Press and Research

Methods of how the governing mechanisms deal with opposition and the relation between science and activism were discussed in the panel discussion "Information and Power 3". The event was organized at the Bosporus University in Istanbul by Social Science Students of the Platform 'We are still witnesses'.

The discussion was based on the case of rights activist Pınar Selek. Selek is accused of the bombing of the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul in 1998. She had been acquitted twice before the Court of Appeals requested her prosecution and life sentence in April 2009.

"Journalists should be well aware of the angle between power and freedom of thought"

"The three legs of Power: Law, Media, Politics" was the topic of the first session which was lead by Karin Karakaşlı, a Turkish writer with Armenian origins.

bianet editor Erol Önderoğlu referred in his speech to the journalistic approach towards lawsuits. Önderoğlu emphasized the crucial relations between researchers and journalists. He pointed out that judicial pressure in political cases at the same time means pressure on sources for the media and research. Önderoğlu added, "The professional press organizations do not provide journalists with ethic codes for the media. Journalists reporting on political cases should know the legal concepts and they should very well know the angle between political power and freedom of thought".

Relations between law, politics and justice

Activist Yasemin Öz, lawyer of the Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Association (Kaos GL) and of the Armagi Women Acadamy, talked about the concept of law: "Law is not solely a way to establish justice, it is an ideological system used by the political power to reach their aims. We are all part of that power. We even foster the power at the points where we are opposing it. When we know how we became a part of that process, we must also know how to establish a transforming opposition".

Sociologist Nazlı Ökten furthermore talked on the theory of social contract. Faculty member Zeynep Direk gave a speech in the second session on "Science and Activism". (ÇT/VK)