New legislation for jailed journalists in Turkey

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc on Wednesday said, "A draft legislation is about to be brought to the parliament these days. We are hoping to announce at the Council of Ministers meeting on Monday that even if a person makes and propaganda as long as it doesn't steer masses into weapons and violence, it will no longer be considered as a crime." Arinc made a speech at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berlin and responded to the questions of journalists. Stating that they would amend propaganda elements that constitute a crime like it is in "Britain, Germany, Spain and USA" Arinc said, "A law is about to be brought to the agenda these days. We are hoping to announce at the Council of Ministers meeting on Monday that even if a person makes propaganda and as long as it doesn't steer masses into weapons and violence, it will no longer be considered as a crime. I belive journalists who are in prison due to violating this article of the law will benefit from this amendment." "Our concern is over journalists who are in scope of the Anti-Terror Law and are on trial or in prison. There are many illegal organizations in Turkey. There are bombings and protests against women, children and soldiers every day. Turkey has to implement this law as a state who has suffered deeply from terror. If you are favoring the idea that there should be no Anti-Terror Law or these protests shouldn't be considered as crime, I'm afraid we don't share the same opinion. If Turkey is a country suffering from terror and many are losing their lives due to terror, we have to implement the Anti-Terror Law," Arinc added. Arinc also touched on the peace talks and said that people should always be allowed to talk about their etnicity and live their cultural identity and emphasized that they established Kurdish and Arabic channels on national television and broadcasted in 29 languages on the radio. Deputy PM Arinc visits Ankara's stand at ITB 2013 in Berlin Arinc and Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Omer Celik visited Ankara's stand at the ITB 2013 Berlin Tourism Fair. In a written statement released on Thursday, the Ankara Development Agency said that Ankara's stand at the ITB 2013 Berlin Tourism Fair received high attention from visitors. "On the first day of the Berlin fair, Deputy Prime Minister Arinc and Minister of Culture and Tourism Celik visited Ankara's stand and received information on tourism in Ankara," the statement also said. The Berlin fair takes place between March 6-10.