Turkish MPs Condemn Ragip Zarakolu’s Arrest

TURKISH MPS CONDEMN RAGIP ZARAKOLU’S ARREST

PanARMENIAN.Net
November 18, 2011 – 15:10 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Co-chair of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP)
Selahattin Demirtas and BDP Istanbul deputy Sirri Sureyya Onder
together signed books at the book stand of the Belge publishing house,
which was established by arrested publisher, writer and activist
Ragip Zarakolu.

“We are here today for Ragip Zarakolu as well as all other arrested
intellectuals and journalists. Zarakolu built this publishing house
with a major effort. We condemn his arrest,” Demirtas said at a press
meeting at the TUYAP Book Fair in Istanbul yesterday.

Both Demirtas and Onder signed books for those who bought books
from the Belge publishing house. Among the most sold were books on
Kurdish history and Ahmet SÑ~Mk’s book “000Kitap.” The manuscript
for “000Kitap” was seized by the police before it was published
in March. The book was released yesterday by some 125 journalists,
activists and academics, who co-authored the book.

Stressing the arrests of journalists Ahmet SÑ~Mk, Nedim Sener as well
as academic Busra Ersanli and publisher Zarakolu, Demirtas said the
government was making a big mistake.

“Unfortunately we see that understanding of the law has failed in
Turkey. The prime minister thinks what he is doing is democracy. But
this is a major mistake,” Demirtas said.

Publisher Ragip Zarakolu, along with 43 others, was arrested on
Nov. 1 in connection with the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) case,
Hurriyet Daily News reported.