The New Anatolian

OPINION

Sunday 07th of September 2008 01:50:16 AM GMT+2

The right of free communications does not exist in Turkey

The widespread eavesdropping cases that are being reveled in Turkey everyday shows there is a serious problem that has to be addressed b y the government and the state institutions. This does not fit a country that aims to join the European Union.

Ilnur Cevik

17 June 2008

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ilnurcevik@yahoo.com

The Turkish constitution specifies in very clear terms that citizens will enjoy freedom of travel and communications. However, in practice this article of the constitution has been violated systematically in Turkey both by state institutions and even by private persons.

Phone tapping and eavesdropping has become a way of life for the security forces. In recent years authorities have ordered wide spread phone tapping in the name o preventing crime and terrorism. Under objections from western circlers eavesdropping has been subjected to some li8mitations at least on paper where the security forces need a court order for phone tapping.

However, this really has not deterred officials ordering phone tapping… A heavy penalties court in Ankara has recently given authority to the police to widely use phone tapping to "monitor" potential criminals. Of course such measures are open to abuse both by officials and individuals.

Such widespread authority should never be given to any authority.

If a person or some people are suspected of preparing to commit a crime then the security officials should be permitted to monitor all their activities including tapping their phones. However, when you issue an order allowing them to monitor "everyone" this is really open to abuse and also violates the general principles of freedom of communications.

All private conversations are being monitored these days in the name of fighting crime. This is an open violation of the privacy of the citizens and should not be permitted.

What is sad is that while we pretend to be ion the way to European Union membership we see with sadness that our mentality and approach to such issues is rather backward…

We still do not have a culture of human rights or democracy. We still feel we can listen into conversations of individuals and then justify this with security.

The scandal that erupted last week with the revelation of a private conversation between main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Secretary General Onder Sav and a former governor in a newspaper showed the extent of eavesdropping in Turkey and that this is not limited just to the state but that journalists are also able to monitor such meetings.

The pro-Islamic Vakit newspaper has been lambasted to eavesdropping and publishing such a meeting and yet in the past there have been other newspapers that published phone conversations between politicians, other prominent personalities including sports figures and yet no action was taken against them. So why pick on Vakit?

The authorities have to put an end to this shame of arbitrary eavesdropping in Turkey.by private individuals and alo by state institutions.

When the ordinary man in the street believes his phone conversations are being monitored can we honestly talk about freedom of communications?

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