KESK & TMMOB: Abolish Article 301

Turkey's Public Workers Confederation (KESK) and the Turkish Union of Engineers and Architects Chambers (TMMOB) have said that if the government is sincere in democratization, "what it should do is abolish article 301 which prevents the freedom of opinion and expression".

KESK Chair Ismail Hakki Tombul and TMMOB Executive Board Chair Mehmet Soganci issued a joint statement on Penal Code article 301 pointing out that the article had come under heavy criticism for its scope of being an obstacle in front of free expression.

Representing some 600 thousand members between them, the KESK and TMMOB leaders referred to the government's recent efforts to amend the said article and that as part of this, it had attempted to include various labor, trade and mass organizations in the process.

"The existence of laws that aim to prevent the freedom of opinion and expression are blows to the democratization era" their statement said. "Because of this, for Turkey to be a truly democratic state of law, "making some amendments on articles that are obstacles in front of the freedom of opinion and expression or moving them under other articles cannot be a solution".

Tombul and Soganci said 301 needed to be abolished, stressing that a solution could only be achieved by taking steps to rid the society of all restrictions imposed under the laws of the 1980 military coup era. (KO/II/EU)