freedom of expression weekly bulletin_13.05.31_22

Think, think… Freedom of Expression Weekly Bulletin (Issue 22/13, 31 May 2013)

There is no freedom of expression for atheists! People of “A group of Atheists” had protested the ordered imprisonment of Sevan Nisanyan by releasing a communiqué. It is told that the communiqué has been written in order to draw attention to juridical and intellectual distortion and double standard. It includes statements like “if the insults and injustices against atheists are not considered as crime on the ground that it is not a close and real danger for atheists – which is not the case because people who do not fasten are beaten or teachers who are teaching evolution theory are subject to oppression and the actions are becoming stronger following the statements against the atheists-, then, how one can claim that what Fazıl Say, Sevan Nişanyan or some other bloggers’ words are creating a close and real danger for believers?”...

The use of technology for bad purposes must be displayed The attention is drawn to the use of technology for bad purposes in the workshop of “Ensuring

Respect of Freedom of Expression” which took place within the forum of "Political Transitions from a Human Rights Perspective: Experiences and Challenges" taking place within the framework of 38th International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Congress. Lawyer Şirin Ebadi, winner of Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, told about the fight which was going on against the DPI-Deep Packet Inspection technology which was sold by Nokia Siemens to spy on the opposition in Iran. Ebadi underlined the fact that human rights could not be sacrificed for commercial benefits. She said: “One of our journalist friends used his cell phone to tell us that he was fine while he was hiding outside the city. After that, the government used this technology to catch him and he was tortured and condemned to six years of prison. This incident sparked off widespread protests. Nokia Siemens as a firm released a statement to the press emphasizing the fact that the government of Iran was using the technology to limit the freedom of expression and to make the opposition shut up. They made it clear in the statement that they wouldn’t sell this technology in Iran anymore as it was used to hinder human rights. It was a victory of Iranians. Unfortunately this technology is provided from China now. That’s why we should fight against this technology that is used to listen the cell phones and read the e-mails of the citizens. We must display the companies that are selling these technologies. Human rights cannot be broken for commercial benefits.

The “Bulb Tayyip” slogan got another prosecution In Bursa, students from the ‘Liseli Genç Umut/Young Hope High School Students” group rejecting the matriculation system, protested on March 25th for a university without matriculation. Students chanted “Bulb Tayyip” slogans during their march towards the province centre of AKP (Justice and Development Party). After the protest, the investigations have started for 16 high school student, one university student, and another university student only watching the protest, reporter of the sendika.org alongside another two people who were not involved in the protest. As a result of the investigation, 17 people, out of whom 15 of them being high school students have been sued with “insult against a public officer due to the performance of his public duty” allegation. After the prosecution, Liseli Genç Umut/Young Hope High School Students group made a public statement saying “AKP has been trying to suppress the uprising of the youth with various different means of restraints and intimidation methods. These prosecutions and investigations are some of these.” The aforementioned slogan has been the reason of other prosecutions before. Lastly, 7 students from the Liseli Genç Umut/Young Hope high school students group have been prosecuted for the usage of this slogan.

Tear gas bomb for protestors in Gezi Park Police intervened with teargas bombs 2 days in a row at 5am in the morning in an attempt to disperse the protestors who were staying overnight in Gezi Park. The protests began on a small scale over redevelopment plans for the park to make way for the rebuilding of an Ottoman-era barracks, reportedly to house a shopping centre. The first day, teargas bombs pushed the group off the park and alleged city hall employees burned down their tents. The firemen extinguished the fire over tents. The press members were affected by teargas, too. The second day, again police used teargas bombs and water cannon towards hundreds of people including deputies and artists. Dr; Hüseyin Demirdizen from Istanbul Medical Chamber stated that 6 persons in under intensive care due to head trauma. The journalist Ahmet Şık is hit by teargas bomb and is taken to the Taksim First Aid Hospital.

After the pushing the protestors off the Park, the construction machines started to work. Some protestors came in to stop it. The clashes between them and the police continued. And finally the demolition has been stopped by BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) Istanbul deputy Sıtkı Süreyya Önder as he placed himself in front of the dozers at 7.50 am. Again, the police put the protestors out of the park on 31st of May.

The incidents have been going on. The police intervened again in crowds as they had gathered together to do a press release.

Police violence against female reporter Dicle News Agency (DIHA) reporter Mütha Çetin has been taken into custody trying to capture the images of a traffic police officer engaging in violence against a woman. After her statement has been taken, she was released in late night. She took an assault report and filed a complaint against the police. Cetin, cited that a traffic police officer was arguing with a driver on Şişli Elmadağ direction, after the driver ran off to the alleys, the police officer engaged in violence against the woman from a foreign nationality in the middle of the street. Cetin said, she wanted to shoot the violence with her mobile phone but got assaulted by the police and obstructed from retrieving any images.

Censorship claim to stockings advertisement in University In Davutpaşa campus of Yıldız Technical University, security personnel have covered the billboards with ads of stockings using paper. Students, who photographed the incident, have published the related photos in the student forum. Dean İsmail Yüksek has a statement following the reactions to the incident and has denied the censorship allegations with the following explanation: “I don’t understand why all these people turned the billboard incident into a national issue in between the finals. When this university and the country have many problems and when we are trying to resolve these problems, the interest in this billboard seems only like a provocation. If we wanted to censor the commercial, we wouldn’t have covered it with paper; we would have opened the billboard with its key and remove the ad.”

BDP’s didn’t get supported with their “Public Iniative” proposal During the meeting of TBMM Committee on constitution (AYK), BDP (Peace and Democracy party)’s proposal of ‘public law proposal’ and ‘changes in the constitution’ to open the way of proposals on behalf of 300 thousand of electorate has been discussed. The general criticism “It’s always Kurdish people who are making proposals of law” became the main topic of the discussions. AKP, CHP (Republican People's Party) and MHP (Nationalist Movement Party) didn’t support the proposal of “People Initiative” of BDP. The proposal mentioned is as below: “With the signature of 300 thousand registered electorate people are allowed to submit public law proposal or change in the Constitution. This public law proposal and the change in the Constitution cannot be in disaccord with the general international law, cannot have clauses against the human rights acquisitions, cannot embrace clauses regressing the fundamental rights and freedoms and must carry the basic conditions of legal rule making. The law proposals, which are not respecting these conditions, will be ignored. The acceptance of the law proposal of People Initiative requires the simple majority of The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM). The acceptance of proposal of change in the Constitution requires the votes 2/3 of majority of the deputies of The Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Those who support the proposal of law should be present as representatives during the meetings in TBMM. In the case of rejection of law proposal by TBMM, TBMM is obligated to hold a plebiscite. If accepted, the proposal becomes legal.”

Yara Abbas Journalists killed in Syria and Pakistan The woman journalist Yara Abbas has been killed by a sniper in Syria. A reporter, Ahmed Ali Joiya has been shot dead in a street in Pakistan. According to local newspapers, Joiya had received threats from Maqbool (Kooli Sassi), a known criminal and he had been coordinating with the local police on a crime story. According to Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) 51 journalists has been killed so far in 2013.

Prime Minister Erdogan: If you wanna drink go home and drink at home Erdoğan was addressing his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputies at a weekly meeting about the criticisms on the law which introduced strict restrictions on the consumption and the sale of alcoholic beverages that was approved by Parliament on Friday 24th of May. Even if the consumption of alcoholic beverages is 1,5 liter (3 beers) per person a year, Erdoğan claimed that the alcoholic beverages are the cause of lot of problems as domestic violence and traffic accidents. He added that for 200 years an imitated life style and thus alcoholic beverages are imposed on younger generations.

“No one should make alcohol a matter of identity. The regulation does not interfere with anyone’s lifestyle. If you are going to drink [alcohol], then drink your alcohol in your house. We are not against this. But we are not allowing this in certain places and at certain hours and within 100 meters of mosques and schools. There are some countries that are not allowing sales of alcoholic beverages within 180 meters of churches. I want to repeat it; it is a regulation not a ban. It is not an interference with lifestyles” he said.

CHP filed a criminal complaint for Reyhanlı ‘The Prime Minister targetted Alevi citizens’ Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) Deputy Chair Sezgin Tanrıkulu, Malatya Deputy Veli Ağbaba and Istanbul Deputy Melda Onur have filed a criminal complaint to Ankara Courthouse against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Internal Affairs’ Minister Muammer Güler for the citizens who were killed after the explosions that took in place in Reyhanlı. Their criminal complaint states as following; “The suspect Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continuously provokes and encourages in an evident way the people to hatred and hostility by associating our Alevi citizens to what is going on in Syria. However, our Alevi citizens do not have any connection or interest in what is going on in Syria. During the weekly meeting with the deputies of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) on 14th May 2013, he was alleging our party CHP -that we are proud to be a member of - to support the Prime Minister of Syria Beşar Esad and he was blaming us to provoke our Alevi citizens against what was going on in Reyhanlı. With his statement the suspect Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been trying to make out of Alevi citizens who are always sincerely supporting our party and thus our party a target for the rest of the society.” After the explosions, The Prime Minister Erdoğan said, “ The chief Deputy of CHP called the legal demands of people in Syria a “terror”, started provocations against the refugees and supported the tyrannical Esad. CHP’s attitude is not impartial. CHP took side of a tyrannical dictator…They were delegated to meet Esad and unfortunately they planned the incidents in Reyhanlı, we have evidences.”