International   

Erdogan refutes criticism on Pamuk trial

ISTANBUL: Turkey's Premier on Wednesday defended the country's conduct in the freedom of expression case again renowned author Orhan Pamuk, saying that ``freedoms are not limitless.''

Recep Tayyip Erdogan also read from the Constitution to criticise those he said were trying to pressure Turkey to drop the case.

``Freedoms are not limitless, in freedom there's a definite limit,'' he said in an interview broadcast live on CNN-Turk.

Mr. Erdogan said that all countries framed freedom of expression in some way, and that the much-criticised article 301 of the new Turkish penal code did that for Turkey.

The article, under which Mr. Pamuk was charged after remarks he made on Turkey's killing of Armenians and Kurds, makes it a crime to insult the Turkish republic or ``Turkishness.'' If convicted, Mr. Pamuk could face up to three years in prison for his remarks.

``Maybe what was said didn't break the frame,'' Mr. Erdogan said, adding that the judiciary was examining the issue and it was wrong to interfere with the process.

Mr. Erdogan then read a paragraph from the Turkish Constitution on the independence of the courts.

``People can express their opinions without putting the courts under pressure, but putting the courts under pressure is very, very ugly,'' he said.

Last week, a group of observers from the European Parliament demanded that Turkey change Article 301 or risk putting its E.U. bid in jeopardy. The E.U. Parliament members vowed to attend Mr. Pamuk's trial until its conclusion.

The trial was delayed pending a technical decision from the Justice Ministry. — AP

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

LTTE attacks Navy boats
Erdogan refutes criticism on Pamuk trial
Alaskan oil plan stalled
Saddam alleges torture in custody
Doubts over bird flu drug
`Famous Five' tops favourite books poll
The Internet gets a sixth sense
Mexican teacher retires at 102
Forum launched in Colombo
Pakistan to build big dams

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu