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Finally a backbone from EU free speech freedoms will not be trimmed to save a deal with Turkey “satire”

April 13, 2016 By administrator

0,,19183018_303,00(DW) EU free speech freedoms will not be trimmed to save a deal with Turkey on migrant flows, says European Commission President Juncker. Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, wants a German satirist prosecuted.

Jean-Claude Juncker told the European Parliament Wednesday that dialogue was the only way to resolve issues with Turkey, including Ankara’s demand that satirist Jan Böhmermann be prosecuted in Germany for insulting Erdogan.

“One thing is clear to me – no matter how important the work for refugees may be, our values on press freedoms and fundamental values do not change,” Juncker said in Strasbourg, referring to fallout from two satirical inserts about Erdogan on German public television channels NDR and ZDFneo.

“I cannot understand at all that a German ambassador is summoned for an admittedly difficult satirical song,” said Juncker, referring to the first German broadcast that lampooned Erdogan.

Böhmermann delivered his crude poem about Erdogan on ZDFneo on March 31, saying his intention was to test legal limits on free speech in the wake of the satirical song on NDR.

Only dialogue would help resolve such issues with Turkey, Juncker told parliament.

Merkel not going to Turkey

According to German law, the government can decide whether or not to prosecute for insulting foreign leaders.

The German Social Democrats called for the law to be scrapped, describing it as “antiquated” and limiting to freedom of speech. At the same time, the chancellor’s spokesman said that decision on Erdogan’s case “will be made” regardless of whether the law is changed.

Spokesman Steffen Seibert also denied Ankara’s claims that Chancellor Merkel was planning a trip to Turkey to open a new refugee camp on the Syrian border.

“I have been asked a half dozen times in the last days and weeks about this trip on April 16 and never confirmed this trip, this appointment, and that is still the case,” Seibert told reporters.

On March 18, the EU and Turkey concluded a deal to ease Europe’s largest arrivals of migrants since World War II.

Complex deal

Since April 4, migrants in Greece are being returned to Turkey from where 72,000 vetted asylum seekers are to be forwarded to EU nations.

For its cooperation, Turkey was promised acceleration of its long-stalled bid for EU membership, the doubling of refugee aid, and visa-free travel by June for Turkish nationals to Europe’s Schengen passport-free zone.

In parliament Wednesday, liberal leader Guy Verhofstadt urged EU Council of Ministers President Donald Tusk to check reports by Amnesty International and Dutch television that refugees’ rights were not being respected in Greece and Turkey.

The group leader for parliament’s left parties, Gabi Zimmer, accused Tusk and Juncker of not doing enough to ensure that proper legal handling of refugees.

From Brussels Wednesday, Reuters news agency said Juncker and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu would meet in Strasbourg next week to discuss the implementation of the migration deal.

It quoted an EU official as saying Juncker and Davutoglu were both due to speak at the plenary session of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly on April 19.

ipj/dj/kms (Reuters, AFP, dpa)

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: EU, free speech, freedom, satire, Turkey

Germany: Prosecuting Böhmermann satire for dictator Erdogan could ‘cost Merkel the chancellery’

April 11, 2016 By administrator

0,,19178912_303,00(DW)Turkey is asking Germany to prosecute a satirist who made fun of its president. No matter how Merkel decides, experts say she can’t win. She’ll either offend an important diplomatic partner or alienate German supporters.

Jan Böhmermann has probably never received this much attention in his entire life. The German comedian is at the center of a controversy surrounding the question of what qualifies as satire and how far the limits of free speech stretch.

On Monday, the German government announced it would look into Turkey’s request to prosecute Böhmermann for a taunting poem the satirist presented in his weekly TV show, “Neo Magazine Royale.” In it, Böhmermann called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a “zoophile,” accusing him of sleeping with goats and beating up girls, Christians and Kurds.

In his show, the comedian said that the poem he was about to read would be illegal and that he wanted to show what satire is and isn’t allowed to do in Germany. The law in question prohibits insulting foreign heads of state. One of its particularities is that the German government, and not the state prosecutor, has to decide whether to take up criminal proceedings.

‘Lose-lose situation for Merkel’

“I find it problematic that the government, which is not part of the judiciary, has to make this decision,” political scientist and journalist Frank Überall told DW. “Government politicians are stuck in this intricate diplomatic web and decisions like this one have no place in that.”

The diplomatic spat between Turkey and Germany comes at an especially inopportune time. For Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkey is an important partner in the refugee crisis. The EU and Erdogan’s government agreed on a deal in March that sees Turkey taking back refugees that entered the EU illegally via Greece. In return for Turkey’s help, the European Union will restart talks with the country about joining the EU.

Critics of the deal had already complained that by entering the agreement, Merkel would make herself too dependent on Erdogan, a man whose regime has recently made news by shutting down newspapers and arresting government-critical journalists.

Even foreign politicians have entered the discussion. Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has proclaimed his support for Böhmermann.

Now Erdogan is putting Merkel on the spot.

“It’s a lose-lose situation for Merkel,” Alexander Kissler, media researcher and journalist with political magazine “Cicero,” told DW. “She either loses face with Turkey or she loses face domestically if she agrees to prosecute Böhmermann.”

Fateful phone call

German broadcaster ZDF, the channel where “Neo Magazine Royal” airs, has deleted the poem from its online media center. Merkel tried to calm the waters, too, by calling Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Sunday. That information was released publicly, including her quote that the poem was “deliberately offensive.”

“That call was a big mistake, especially making it public,” Kissler said. Her “attempt to tame Turkey” failed and everyone could see it.

On Monday, Merkel’s spokesman said the government would take a few days to look into the issue before deciding whether Böhmermann should be prosecuted. Kissler sees this statement as a diplomatic gesture, but says that eventually, Merkel’s government will have to deny Turkey’s request. “Anything else could cost Merkel the chancellory,” he said.

An overwhelming majority of social media users in Germany supports Böhmermann, so Merkel would indeed face domestic outrage should she agree to criminal proceedings. Twitter user Gräfin Kerssenbrock, for example, called the German government’s stalling a “complete failure.”

Read more: DW.com

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Böhmermann, Erdogan, Germany, prosecuting, satire, Turkey

Terrorist State of Turkey Probe opened against German TV presenter for allegedly ‘insulting’ Erdoğan

April 7, 2016 By administrator

n_97469_1BERLIN

A probe has been launched in Germany against a presenter on the ZDF TV station who allegedly “insulted” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in one of his recent programs, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on April 6.  

Germany’s Mainz prosecutor’s office opened a probe against presenter Jan Böhmermann for allegedly “insulting foreign state representatives and institutions,” said Mainz chief prosecutor Andrea Keller. 

Keller said around 20 people had filed criminal complaints against Böhmermann and that these complaints, along with any future complaints, would be brought together under the probe.    

He also said the German Justice Ministry had been informed, in order to clarify whether Turkey or its president had also filed a criminal complaint. 

Prosecution spokesman Gerd Deutschler said on April 6 that Böhmermann’s program material could amount to “a violation of section 103 of the [German] criminal code: insulting organs or representatives of foreign states,” according to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. 

German government spokesperson Steffen Seibert last week said German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu discussed the issue during a recent phone conversation. He said both officials considered the related part of the show as “intentionally insulting.”

Böhmermann’s satirical program was removed from broadcast after he read out a poem allegedly “insulting” Erdoğan. 

April/07/2016

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Germany, satire, Turkey, tv

GERMANY Scolded by Turkey, a German TV rebroadcasts his satire on Erdogan (video)

April 1, 2016 By administrator

arton123985-480x250The German television channel NDR rebroadcast, in protest, a satirical song about the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced by Ankara, Berlin and scratched for his reaction as too soft after the convening of the German ambassador.

“Maybe that Erdogan did not understand the song? This is why the are back and with subtitles in Turkish! “Shouted the presenter of the program” Extra 3 “on the public channel broadcast in the north, Christian Ehring Wednesday night.

The German Ambassador in Ankara, Martin Erdmann, was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry after the premiere of the song “Erdowie, Erdowo, Erdogan” NDR on March 17 and denouncing leader of the authoritarian excesses of Turkish state.

The chain had strongly protested when the German Foreign Ministry was quick to respond.

The German authorities expected Wednesday to formally celebrate the freedom of the press and of opinion were “not negotiable”. The spokesman of the German government, Christiane Wirtz, had assured “see no more reason to talk” with Turkey, adding that the issue “belongs to the German media landscape,” a presentation perspective to the Turkish authorities .

But does the German media were not satisfied with that answer. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung expressed in an editorial of his irritation to see Berlin react “late”.

Chancellor Angela Merkel is seen as the main initiator of a controversial plan between the EU and Turkey to try to stop the flow of migrants, and has increased in recent months signs of goodwill towards Ankara despite the authoritarian excesses of its president.

The host of “Extra 3” has also not fail to emphasize the retention of the German government in its reaction. “If he (Erdogan, ed) wants to hear criticism, he must listen ‘Extra 3”, has he said on the air. “But if he does not want criticism, rather it should meet the Chancellor.”

The European Commission has also strongly rebuked Ankara.

Friday, April 1 2016
Stéphane © armenews.com

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Erdogan, german, rebroadcasts, satire, tv

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