[riz]

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.p...ter-2010-03-09

Is there any freedom of speech in Turkey? Be careful what you say or you could get charged / fined / jailed

[ludwig van]

The guy deserved a jail sentence. Disgusting of him to insult dogs.

[riz]

Brilliant Ludwig!!! That's an awesome thought..

[Fleur]

I think he is bit pathetic to have done this, but at the same time does he deserve to go to court? I don't think so.

[riz]

What about freedom of artistic expression?? What's pathetic to your eyes may be completely normal to another person.

[LKA]

I agree with one of the comments made on that article:

"Mr. Dickinson was being deliberately provocative, knowing full well the laws of Turkey. Putting aside the highly unreasonable laws on freedom of expression....not imposed by Mr. Erdogan as some think, but in place for many years before he became Prime Minister, he would have been well aware of his possible arrest and prosecution. As a foreigner living in Turkey I cannot state that I think all the country's laws make sense, but I obey them. I hope Mr. Dickinson moves on with his life, but with the understanding that as a guest in Turkey he should consider living within its laws"

[ludwig van]

Originally Posted by LKA

I agree with one of the comments made on that article:

"Mr. Dickinson was being deliberately provocative, knowing full well the laws of Turkey. Putting aside the highly unreasonable laws on freedom of expression....not imposed by Mr. Erdogan as some think, but in place for many years before he became Prime Minister, he would have been well aware of his possible arrest and prosecution. As a foreigner living in Turkey I cannot state that I think all the country's laws make sense, but I obey them. I hope Mr. Dickinson moves on with his life, but with the understanding that as a guest in Turkey he should consider living within its laws"

If I went to the US I could make the same cartoon about Obama or Bush. A Turkish person coming to England could make the same comments about Brown or the queen. However had you done the same thing in Hitler's Germany, Stalin's USSR or Franco's Spain then the law would clamp down on you. What do you think this says about such laws.

A mature democracy at ease with itself allows its leaders to be criticised. A dictatorship does not. Which way do you think Turkey is heading?

[LKA]

Well Ludwig, the laws are unreasonable of course. But anyone coming to this country and being deliberately provocative, knowing this to be the case, is going to suffer the consequences of those unreasonable laws. There must be a better way of changing things. Although to be honest, I really don't know how this can be done. Being accepted by the EU would make a great difference, but I don't believe this will happen anytime soon.

Where do I think Turkey is heading? Completely the wrong way. This was never Ataturk's vision was it? I think he would turn in his grave if he could see how democracy is interpreted in Turkey today.

[ludwig van]

We change bad laws by challenging them LKA. If Rosie Parks had moved to the back of the bus when told to do so back in the 1950s do you think that Obama would be president now. The Turkish people ought to sticking this poster up on every street.

[LKA]

I can't disagree with that Ludwig, but it should be the Turks challenging their laws, not foreigners. Unfortunately there's an awful lot of apathy amongst the majority of Turks. A tendency to just accept everything without challenging it. That's where it needs to change...and how can that be achieved?