Osman Kavala Archives - Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann

Statement from PEN Turkey https://www.pen.org.tr/ 27/04/2022

GEZİ IS OUR FREEDONM OF THOUGHT AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSİON

We are addressing not to those without conscience, but to those with conscience. We are addressing not to despots, but to democrats. Not to the lawless but to those who respect law. Not to obeyers of despotism but to citizens.

We are addressing not those who keep acting against the Constitution, but to those who take the definition in our constitution seriously: ‘The Republic of Turkey is a secular democratic social state based on human rights.’

The Gezi Park Protests in 2013 were peaceful and constitutional reactions of environmentalist citizens who demanded democracy and human rights. They were our reactions. Gezi is us. Gezi is hope. Gezi is solidarity. Gezi is freedom of thought and expression. Gezi is the right to choose your life style. Gezi is the possibility of co-habitation of differences. Gezi is our richness. Gezi is well and alive, because our demand for democracy and law is well and alive.

We stand by all our friends convicted in the Gezi Protests. Life long sentence and 18 years of imprisonment, is the result due to the lack of independent justice and lack of division of powers. It is yet another slur on jurisprudence in our country at this stage.

Totally ignoring the numerous vitally serious issues we face in our country, totally disregarding human rights, laws & justice, these sentences are handed down in acts of plain vengeance about a civil resistance movement which took place ten years ago & involved millions of people.

This is what We, as PEN Turkey would like to say on this subject:

We are calling to account all those who ignore our constitution; ignore independent justice; those who misuse their authority by cheating on every level; those who destroy our forests, rivers, lakes, shores, render our cities uninhabitable; those who thrive on tensions brought on by divisive acts, vengeance & strife. Those who incite atmospheres of tension & terror should be made well aware that “TOMORROW” and “HOPE” , “ JUSTİCE” and “DEMOCRACY” are not very far away for our beautiful country.

PEN TURKEY

To learn more about the defendants on Bianet: https://m.bianet.org/english/human-rights/261038-who-are-the-eight-convicts-of-the-gezi-trial#

On 28^th April, Poetry Day Ireland, a team of Board members tweeted extracts from work by poets from Myanmar at regular intervals throughout the day.

Since our last newsletter we have issued statements in response to the shocking rendition of journalist and blogger Roman Protasevich and student Sofia Sapega in Belarus and sent messages of support to our colleagues in PEN Belarus.

“Irish PEN/PEN n hÉireann utterly condemns the actions of the Belarus Administration in forcing the diversion of a Ryanair flight for the purpose of extracting and holding a journalist and his companion.”

We also issued a statement against the online harrassment of journalists on Social Media, quoted by Martina Devlin in her Irish Independent column on Saturday 15^th May: “Irish PEN unreservedly condemns online attacks on journalists, which have real and damaging effects on writer’s ability to work and speak freely. Such attacks represent a direct threat to freedoms of thought and speech and by extension, to democracy itself.”

In this context, we’d like to draw your attention to Julie Posetti’s UNESCO document on violence/harassment against female journalists: The Chilling

and to The English PEN paper on Online Harms:

Online Harms White Paper

On 20^th May 2021, we joined 49 other PEN Centres in a statement calling for the release of Osman Kavala .

Our co-operation with PEN Centres in England, Scotland and Wales continues, with exchanges of news and ideas and some co-operative actions, along with plans for future joint projects.

Our Freedom to Write sub-committee has joined the TURKEY ACTION GROUP. A representative attended the first meeting of this group which was both deeply interesting, as we learned of the work of other Centres, and alarming as we heard of the further erosion of rights in Turkey.

Members of the Board attended the Writers for Peace conference via Zoom, 9-11 June.

Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann

Defending the right to responsible Freedom of Expression

Tag Archives: Osman Kavala

PEN TURKEY PROTESTS THE GEZI VERDICT – (Osman Kavala & Co-Defendants)

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