MILLIYET- Columnist Fikret Bila comments on the just vetoed amnesty law. A summary of his column is as follows:
If President Ahmet Necdet Sezer hadn’t vetoed the latest amnesty law, would convicts such as Mehmet Ali Agca and Haluk Kirci have received a ‘get out of jail free’ card? Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk addressed this question when I spoke to him yesterday. ‘The press looked at the early release law and interpreted it to mean that these men would be released,’ he said. ‘However, it was by no means certain that they would benefit from this law and get out. One would hare to check each of their files individually.’ Justice Minister Turk cannot predict for certain the fates of Agca and Kirci, instead saying that their files need to be examined. So what will happen next? Minister Turk points out that a legal vacuum has opened up following President Sezer’s veto, and so he emphasizes that a new law should be enacted as soon as possible. It is no surprise that the subject of amnesty resulted in confusion. Let’s remember, the push for amnesty originally came from Democratic Left Party [DSP] deputy leader Rahsan Ecevit, also the wife of the prime minister. Her aim was to bring back into society’s fold those who ended up in prison due to petty crimes and who are considered ‘victims of fate’ and their social conditions. The aim was to provide people who turned to crime due to economic hardship with jobs. Rahsan Ecevit made an effort to ensure that the ‘victims of fate’ who were released from prison under last year’s amnesty law would be brought back into normal society. She helped them to find jobs. Mrs. Ecevit’s aim was limited to this. However, the result was just the opposite. While this old conditional release law was enacted by commissions one by one, it turned out to be an ‘amnesty of supporters’ from the coalition partners. It was very likely that the Constitutional Court would annul the law, which is just what happened. This new arrangement for conditional release for ‘victims of fate’ turned out almost to be a ‘general amnesty’ covering such convicts as Agca and Kirci. Neither the public nor the Ecevits’ conscience could stomach this. It will be hard for the government to put together a palatable conditional release law after this point.

SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION