"Reforms Are Not Easy, But Necessary"

Turkey's new penal code brings Turkey almost completely into line with EU standards on human rights. Among other changes, the law increases penalties against human rights abusers and torturers. Erik Campano reports

Turkey has said that by implementing the new penal code on Wednesday, it has taken one of the last major steps toward starting entry talks with the European Union.

EU politicians have called repeatedly for the reforms; earlier this month, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said they wouldn't be easy, but were necessary.

European style criminal punishment code

"We trust that the process of reform will become a social reality", Schröder. "It has to be – and we know that putting reforms into place is not easy. In view of the amount of resistance, there is bound to be a reaction in the society."

Crime and punishment in Turkey will now take on a much more European style.

Police officers and prison officials can spend 12 years in prison for using torture. They cannot enter people's homes without compelling reasons or intercept telephone calls to gather personal information.

The law is much tougher on corruption: no longer is there a statute of limitations for major corruption cases. Genocide, crimes against humanity, and trafficking of people and human organs are all illegalised. And Turkey now forbids discrimination based on language, race, colour, gender, political thought, philosophical belief, religion, and denomination.

Marital rape and sexual harassment are also, for the first time, a crime, and life sentences will go to those who commit so-called "honour killings" of women.

Several amendments after points of criticism

It was just on Friday that the parliament approved the final code. The process of drafting it was laborious. The first version in September received much international fanfare, but over time various governments and human rights groups found points of criticism.

Since then, the code went through a number of amendments, removing, for example, a ban on adultery, and clauses threatening jail terms for journalists who insult public officials.

Turkey claimed this week that it only has one major change to make in order to start entry talks into the EU: to extend its customs union to include the 10 new EU members which joined last year.

One of those countries is Cyprus; Ankara refuses to recognise the government of the southern, Greek part of the island.

But Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said on Tuesday that his country would sign an agreement extending the customs union anyway – and that Brussels would probably have that agreement ready within the next few weeks.

Erik Campano

Qantara.de

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